Symbol  and  Satire 

in  the 

French  Revolution 


Oi'  LS   r-RUKir    PATIilPTIiUU 


Ernest  F.Henderson 


By  Ernest  F.  Henderson 


Symbol  and  Satire  in  the  French  Revolution 

Bliicher,  and  the  Uprising  of  Prussia  against 

Napoleon 


Symbol  and  Satire  in  the 
French  Revolution 


By 
Ernest  F.  Henderson,  Ph.D.,  L.H.D. 

Author  of  "  A  Short   History  of  Germany."   "  Bliicher,"  "  A  Lady 
of  the  Old  Regime,"  etc. 


With  171  Illustrations 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New    York    and    London 

XTbc  IvHichcrbochcr  lprci?i? 

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Copyright,  iqia 

BV 

ERNEST  F.  HENDERSON 


Vbe  Itnfckerboclier  ptcss,  Itew  Sorft 


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MY  MILTOX    FRIENDS 

IN    MKMOKV    OJ     THEIR    KINDMiSS    AM)    AITRlii  lATION 

This  Book  is  Dedicated 


PREFACE 

HAS  sufficient  attention  been  paid  to  the  fact 
that,  apart  from  all  its  horrors  and  injust- 
ice, the  French  Revolution  was  a  beautiful 
dream?  Imagination  ran  riot  as  never  before. 
People  seemed  utterly  unable  to  speak  or  to  tliink 
in  plain  language.  In  what  period  of  the  world's 
history  do  we  meet  with  so  many  fables  and 
personifications,  symbols,  satires,  and  emblems? 
The  dawn  of  French  Hberty  is  like  the  dawn  of  the 
world's  religion;  there  is  the  same  conflict  between 
great  shapeless  monsters  that  forms  the  legendary 
basis  of  every  modem  creed.  The  war  of  liberty 
against  slavery  is  one  of  Titans  against  gods;  the 
favourite  symbol  for  despotism  is  the  many-headed 
hydra.  The  number  of  these  hydras  that  were 
slain,  of  the  chains  that  were  broken,  of  the  yokes 
that  were  cast  off,  is  simply  appalling.  The  cap 
of  Liberty,  the  carpenter's  level  to  denote  Equality, 
the  scales  of  Justice,  the  eye  of  Vigilance,  tlie 
bundle  of  fagots  to  denote  Unity  and  Indivisi- 
bility: all  these  and  many  more  recur  literally 
thousands  of  times.  Thrones  totter,  tyrants  bite 
the  dust,  Liberty  accomplishes  wonderful  feats 
of  prowess  and  agility,  while  even  the  mountain, 


vi  Preface 

symbol  of  one  of  the  great  political  parties,  shakes 
or  quakes,  jumps  or  falls,  belches  forth  destructive 
lava  or  in  some  other  way  makes  life  unpleasant 
for  its  opponents. 

More  interesting  in  their  wealth  of  symbols  than 
even  the  speeches  and  writings  of  the  time  are  the 
pictorial  satires  and  allegories,  great  numbers  of 
which  have  been  preserved.  They  are  documents 
of  real  historical  importance  and  have  hitherto 
been  much  neglected.  They  reveal  the  spirit  of 
the  time  as  no  mere  printed  words  could  ever  do. 
They  are  products  of  this  special  revolution,  for 
nothing  like  them  had  ever  been  known  before. 
They  filled  a  real  need,  for  they  appealed  even  to 
the  illiterate;  and  three  fourths  of  the  population 
of  France  at  that  time  could  neither  read  nor  write. 
They  show  us  the  Revolution  as  it  was  shown  to 
the  common  man  of  the  period. 

But  more  than  this.  We  find  that  some,  if  not 
all,  of  these  productions  were  issued  as  a  means  of 
political  propaganda,  with  the  direct  and  avowed 
intention  of  influencing  public  opinion.  Cartoons 
were  a  strong  weapon  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
held  the  public  funds,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  millions  were  spent  in  producing  them.  Take, 
for  instance,  this  extract  from  a  speech  of  Lequinio's 
at  the  Jacobin  Club  in  November,  1791:  "You 
know  all  the  evils  that  fanaticism  caused  by  spread- 
ing pictures  throughout  the  country.  I  propose 
that  the  Society  undertake  to  engage  all  artists  to 
labour  in  opposition  to  this  by  making  pictures 
that  have  to  do  with  the  Revolution." 


Preface  vii 

In  October,  1792,  we  find  an  artist  accorded 
honourable  mention  in  the  National  Convention 
because  of  a  cartoon  representing  the  soldiers  of 
despotism  quitting  their  standards  to  enrol  under 
those  of  Liberty  and  Equality.  The  proces  verbal 
or  Journal  of  the  Convention  records  the  statement 
that  such  productions  are  "one  of  the  most  effica- 
cious means  of  instructing  the  hamlets  and  speak- 
ing to  the  eyes  of  the  ignorant  and  unfortunate 
inhabitants."  The  accounts  of  the  Committee  of 
Public  Safety  later  contain  an  item  of  three  thousand 
francs  paid  to  an  artist  for  two  caricatures,  one  of 
which  represents  a  turkey  pulling  King  George  of 
England  by  the  nose.  Later  still  we  find  the  same 
Committee  decreeing  that  a  picture  glorifying  the 
patriotic  act  of  a  boy,  Barra,  who  died  rather  than 
cry  "God  save  the  King!"  shall  be  distributed 
among  the  pupils  of  all  the  schools  in  France. 
The  patriotic  almanac  was  another  means  of  propa- 
ganda employed  by  the  Jacobins. 

My  cartoons  were  photographed  direct  from  the 
originals — almost  all  of  which  are  anonymous  loose 
sheets.  They  are  to  be  found  for  the  most  part 
in  the  Collection  Hennin  of  the  Bibliotheque 
Nationale  in  Paris.  Others  came  from  the  Alusee 
Carnavalet  and  a  few  I  was  able  to  purchase  from 
antiquaries.  But  the  demand  for  such  material  is 
very  keen,  and  the  pnjductions  bring  prices  beyond 
the  reach  of  ordinary  individuals. 

A  word  about  the  narrative  that  accompanies 
the  cartoons.  I  have  taken  great  pains  to  avoid 
what  is  old  and  hackneved,  and  have  consulted 


Vlll 


Preface 


original  authorities  for  every  phase  of  the  subject. 
I  have  not  endeavoured  to  prove  new  points  or 
indeed  to  indulge  in  controversy  of  any  sort.  My 
single  aim  has  been  to  illumine.  With  this  end 
in  view  I  have  consulted  a  number  of  manuscripts 
which  have  proved  very  inspiring.  The  National 
Archives  are  rich  in  Revolutionary  material,  and 
it  is  interesting  to  note  how  many  documents  they 
contain  that  were  written  at  critical  moments :  The 
defiance  left  behind  by  Louis  XVI  on  the  day 
that  he  fled  to  Varennes;  the  letter  written  by 
Charlotte  Corday  after  the  murder  of  Marat; 
Marie  Antoinette's  letter  written  four  hours  be- 
fore her  execution;  the  note  pinned  by  Roland 
to  his  coat  just  before  he  committed  suicide; 
Robespierre's  appeal  to  Couthon  to  come  to  the 
Hotel  de  Ville  on  the  9th  of  Thermidor,  and  a 
host  of  others.  When  we  come  to  think  of  it,  it  is 
just  such  documents  that  were  most  likely  to  be 
preserved,  because  they  were  at  once  seized  by  the 
police  and  placed  on  file.  There  are  autographs, 
of  course,  of  all  sorts  of  interesting  personages — of 
Dr.  Guillotin,  of  Danton,  of  Marat,  of  Madame 
Roland.  There  is  the  protest  of  the  seventy-five 
at  the  expulsion  of  the  Girondists;  Petion's  account 
of  his  return  from  Varennes  in  the  royal  coach; 
Fouquier-Tinville's  complaint  that  the  Dantonists 
on  trial  for  their  life  are  so  insolent  as  to  demand 
that  witnesses  be  heard  in  their  defence;  the  order 
of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  to  separate 
Marie  Antoinette  from  her  son;  an  indignant  pro- 
test on  Executioner  Samson's  part  that  he  has  not 


Preface  ix 

been  selling  Louis  XM's  hair;  the  decree  in  the 
minutes  of  the  Convention  abolishing  the  Christian 
Era — in  short,  there  is  no  end  to  the  treasures  of 
this  kind,  and  the  actual  handling  of  them  gives  one 
a  \n\dd  sense  of  the  reality  of  the  happenings. 

I  have  tried  to  do  justice  to  the  modem  authori- 
ties; but  the  literature  is  very  vast  and  even 
important  works  may  have  escaped  me.  Aulard, 
his  journal  as  well  as  his  monographs;  Brette, 
Flammermont,  Sorcl,  Jaurcs,  Wallon,  Mortimer- 
Tcmeux,  Hamcl — all  have  been  of  great  assistance. 
I  regret  that  a  general  account  of  the  Revo- 
lution by  Aladclin  has  not  reached  me  in  time 
to  be  of  service.  I  could  not  begin  to  mention 
here  the  works  from  which  I  have  extracted  some 
one  or  more  facts;  I  have  given  some  references 
in  the  footnotes.  I  have  chosen  the  form  of  a 
chronological  narrative  because  only  thus  did  it 
seem  possible  to  show  the  juncture  at  which  the 
cartoons  were  issued  and  the  part  that  they  played 
as  the  Revolution  progressed. 

E.  F.  H. 

Boston,  May  25,  1912. 


CONTENTS 


at  AFTER 

I 

Introductory  ...... 

PAGE 

1 

II 

LlUliRTV     ....... 

25 

III 

Equality 

73 

IV 

Fratkrnity 

121 

V 

FLKiHT         ....... 

147 

VI 

Prouation         ..... 

190 

VII 

Downfall 

214 

VIII 

Massacre          ..... 

262 

IX 

War 

295 

X 

Proscrii'tion     ..... 

338 

XI 

Ti:kr()R     ...... 

371 

XII 

Idolatry            ..... 

•     397 

XIII 

Ri- action           ..... 

•    424 

Index        

•    443 

XI 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Plate      i.     Liberty  Crowninj;  Benjamin  Franklin  . 

Plate  2.  Bom  to  Trouble.  A  Comparison  of  the 
Peasant  with  Domestic  Animals. 

Plate  3.  Post  Tenehras  Lux.  An  Allegorical  Re- 
presentation in  Honour  of  Necker's 
Recall  in  1788 

Plate  4.  The  Coach  Ornamented  with  S\Tnbols  in 
which  Louis  XVI  Went  to  his  Corona- 
tion in  1774      ..... 

Plate  5.  A  Symbolical  Representation  of  the 
Three  Estates  Proceeding  to  Versailles 
in  May,  1789   ..... 

Plate  6.  Another  Version  of  the  Symbolical 
Representation  of  the  Three  Estates 
Proceeding  to  Versailles  in  May,  1 789. 

Plate  7.  The  Three  Estates  in  their  Respective 
Costumes  of  Ceremony 

Plate  8.  The  Costume  of  a  Deputy  of  the  Third 
Estate    ...... 

Plate  9.  A  Symbolical  Representation  Entitled 
"Ah,  how  Hard  Are  the  Times!"      . 

Plate  10.  A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Third  Testate 
Welcoming  the  Clergy  to  the  Ranks  of 
the  National  Assembly,  June  13,  1789. 


PACE 
/ 


21 


23 


24 


2b 


27 


30 


31 


Xlll 


XIV 


Illustrations 


Plate  ii.  Mirabeau  in  the  Name  of  the  National 
Assembly  Defying  De  Bt6z6,  Master 
of  Ceremonies  of  the  King . 

Plate  12.  A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Third  Estate 
Welcoming  the  other  Two  Estates  to 
the  Ranks  of  the  National  Assembly, 
June  30,  1789 

Plate  13.  A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Three  Estates  as 
Musicians  at  Last  Playing  in  Tune 

Plate  14.  A  Cartoon  Showing  Concord  Holding  the 
Three  Estates  United  by  Flowery 
Chains    ...... 


PAGE 


37 


41 


42 


43 


Plate    15. 


Plate    16. 


Plate    17. 


Plate    18. 


Plate    19. 


A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Three  Estates 
Shouldering  in  Common  the  Burden  of 
the  National  Debt    ....       44 

A  Cartoon  Entitled  "The  Triumph  of 
the  Three  Orders,"  Showing  France 
and  her  Three  Sons,  the  Clergy,  Nobil- 
ity and  Third  Estate,  on  their  Way  to 
the  Temple  of  Justice         ...       45 

Facsimile  of  Medals  Commemorating 
the  Harmony  of  the  Three  Estates  in 
the  Summer  of  1789  .  .  .46 

A  Cartoon  Representing  the  Third 
Estate  Awakening  from  his  Long 
Slumber,  Casting  off  his  Chains  and 
Terrifying  the  Other  Two  Estates        .       47 

A  Cartoon  Entitled  "This  Time  Justice 
Is  the  Strongest,"  and  Representing 
Justice  and  the  Third  Estate  Weighing 
Down  the  Clergy  and  Nobility    .  .       51 


Illustrations  xv 

PAGE 

Plate  20.  A  Cartoon  Entitled  "The  Noble  Two- 
Step,"  in  which  a  Noble  and  an  Ahb6 
are  Dancing  to  the  Piping  of  the  Third 
Estate    ......        52 

FOLATE  21.  A  Cartoon  Entitled  "Despotism  Over- 
thrown," and  Likening  the  Storming 
of  the  Bastile  to  the  Slaying  of  a 
Hydra 53 

Plate  22.  A  Representation  of  Louis  XVI  Driving 
up  to  the  H6tcl  de  Ville  in  Paris  on 
July  17,  1789,  where  he  was  Acclaimed 
Restorer  of  French  Liberty "  .        57 


i( ' 


Plate  23.  An  Engraving  Showing  Louis  XVI  with 
the  Cap  of  Liberty  which  he  Publicly 
Donnedon  July  17,  1789    .  .  -59 

Pl.\te    24.     Louis  XVI  Depicted  as  the  "Restorer 

of  French  Liberty  "  ....       61 

Plate  25.  A  Portrait  of  Bailly  over  which  Is  the 
National  Cockade  with  the  Motto  In 
Hoc  Signo  Vicimus   ....       63 

Plate  26.  A  Satirical  Production  Called  "  The  Con- 
clusion of  the  Diet,"  Showing  the 
Evil  Results  of  Forcing  one  Caji  upon 
the  Three  Estates     .  .  •       ^^4 

Pl.\te  27.  A  Bloodthirsty  Cartoon  Called  "The 
Patriotic  Calculator,"  Showing  the 
Frenchman  Making  out  a  Bill  for 
Eight  Heads  Paid  on  Account,  Twelve 
Still  Due 65 


XVI 

Plate  28. 


Plate  29. 


Plate  30. 


Plate  31. 


Plate  32. 


Plate  33. 


Plate  34. 


Illustrations 

A  Cartoon  Called  "The  Great  Step 
Accomplished,  or  the  Dawn  of  a  Fine 
Day,"  which  Shows  the  Frenchman 
Advancing  over  the  Heads,  Bastiles, 
etc.,  to  Join  with  the  King  and  Observe 
the  Law  ..... 

A  Cartoon  Called  the  "  Constitution  of 
France,"  Showing  Necker  Borne  Aloft 
by  the  Due  d' Orleans  and  Lafayette 
while  the  Chains  of  Servitude  are 
Trampled  Under  Foot 

An  Allegorical  Representation  to  the 
Glory  of  Necker  Entitled  "Virtue  Sur- 
mounts all  Obstacles."  (Remarkable 
because  the  Recall  of  Necker  is  Attri- 
buted to  the  Queen.). 

An  Elaborate    Allegorical    Representa- 
tion in  which  Louis  XVI  Conducts 
Necker  along  the  Path  of  Glory  and 
Presents  him  to  the  National  Assem- 
bly ...... 

A  Cartoon  in  which  the  King  and  Necker 
are  Breaking  the  Chains  of  a  Grate- 
ful Third  Estate  while  Discord  takes 
to  Flight 

A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Three  Estates 
Forging  Away  at  the  New  Constitu- 
tion        ...... 

A  Cartoon  Representing  the  French 
Nation  in  a  Patriotic  Delirium  Break- 
ing Down  Feudalism  on  August  4, 
1789 


PAGE 


66 


67 


68 


69 


71 


74 


11 


Plate  35. 


Plate  36. 
Plate  37. 


Plate  38. 


Plate  39. 

Plate  40. 

Plate  41. 

Plate  42. 


Plate  43. 


Illustrations 

An   Allegorical    Representation    which 
Shows  France  Inscribing  on  a  Monu- 
ment   the    Feudal     Privileges     Re- 
nounced on  August  4,  1789. 

A  Representation  of  the  Frenchwoman 
Become  Free   ..... 


XVll 

PAGE 


81 


A   Double  Cartoon  Representing    the 
Change  Wrought  in  the  Condition  of 
the  Peasant  by  the  Renunciations  of 
August  4th.     Before  .  -84 

A  Double  Cartoon  Representing  the 
Change  Wrought  in  the  Condition  of 
the  Peasant  by  the  Renunciations  of 
August  4th.    After   ....       85 

A  Double  Cartoon  Representing  the 
Frenchman  Formerly  and  the  French- 
man Now.    The  Frenchman  Formerly.       86 

A  Double  Cartoon  Representing  the 
Frenchman  Formerly  and  the  French- 
man Now.    The  Frenchman  Now        .       87 

A  National  Guard  in  Uniform       .  .       88 

A  Representation  Intended  to  Show 
What  an  Advantage  the  Free  French- 
man Has  over  the  Enslaved  English- 
man. Pitt  is  Trampling  on  the  Crown 
and  Holding  the  Parliament  En- 
chained ......       91 

A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Contrast 
Between  an  Englishman's  Manner  of 
Doing  Homage  to  Lil>erty  and  a 
Frenchman's  .....       92 


XVIU 

Plate  44. 


Plate  45. 


Plate  46. 


Plate  47. 


Plate  48. 


Illustrations 

A  Caricature  of  the  First  Emigres 
Leaving  France.  Madame  de  Polig- 
nac,  the  Queen's  Favourite  Is  in  the 
Donkey-Basket.  The  King's  Brother 
Is  on  Horseback       .... 

A  Cartoon  Showing  Chabroud  Endeav- 
ouring to  Clear  the  Due  d' Orleans  of 
Complicity  in  the  Events  of  October 
6,  1789    ...... 

A  Contemporary  Drawing  of  the  Expedi- 
tion of  the  Women  of  Paris  to  Ver- 
sailles on  October  5,  1789  . 


Plate    49. 


Plate    50. 


PAGE 


Plate    51, 


Plate    52. 


A  Dutch  Engraving  vShowing  the  Hall  of 
the  Jacobin  Club  in  Paris  . 


93 


97 


99 


A  Contemporary  Drawing  Represent- 
ing the  Women  of  Paris  Returning 
from  Versailles  on  October  6,  1789     .        104 

A  Representation  of  the  Arrival  of  the 
King  and  Queen  in  Paris  on  October 
6,  1789.  One  Sees  the  Women  Leading 
the  Cortege      .....      105 

A  Cartoon  Representing  Charon  Re- 
fusing to  Ferry  over  any  of  the  Head- 
less Ones  Save  a  Baker  who  had  been 
Killed  by  Mistake     ....      108 

A  Symbolical  Production  Showing  Rea- 
son in  the  Act  of  Explaining  the  New 
Divisions  of  France  while  Envy  and 
Hatred  seek  to  Hamper  Her        .  .109 

A  Symbolical  Production  Showing  the 
Genius  of  France  Adopting  Liberty 
and  Equality  .  .  .  .  .112 


113 


Plate  53. 


Plate  54. 


Plate  55. 


Plate  56. 


Plate  57. 
Plate  58. 


Plate  59. 


Plate  60. 


Plate  6l 


Plate  62. 


Illustrations 

A  Representation  of  the  Typical  Jacobin. 
One  Sees  the  Eye  of  Vigilance  on  his 
Cap         ...... 

A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Clergy  Despoiled 
of  its  Possessions.  Once  it  Was  Fat, 
Now  it  Is  Lean        .... 

A  Caricature  Called  "The  Overthrow," 
Relating  to  the  Confiscation  of  the 
Estates  of  the  Clergy 

A  Caricature  Called  "The  Present 
Time,"  Showing  the  Clergy  Reduced 
to  a  Skeleton  and  Standing  Humbly 
before  the  Other  Two  Estates 

A  Caricature  Against  the  Clergy  En- 
titled ' '  The  Patriotic  Reducer  of  Fat ' ' . 

A  Cartoon  Representing  the  Marquis  de 
Favras  being  Received  in  Hades  by 
Foulon,  Berthier  and  other  Headless 
Ones       ...... 

A  Symbolical  Representation  of  France 
Making  her  Children  Clasp  Hands  in 
Token  of  Fraternity . 

A  Representation  of  the  F6te  of 
Federation  on  the  Champ  de  Mars, 
July  14,  1790 

A  Facsimile  of  a  Portion  of  the  Frieze  on 
the  Great  Arch  at  the  F6te  of  Federa- 
tion        ...... 

A  Contemporary  Illustration  Showing 
the  People  of  Paris  at  Work  Trans- 
forming the  Champ  de  Mars  in  Prepa- 
ration for  the  F6te    .... 


XIX 

P.\UE 


114 


II 


116 


ir 


118 


123 


125 


129 


131 


^^^ 


XX 

Plate  63. 

Plate  64. 

Plate  65. 

Plate  66. 

Plate  67. 

Plate  68. 

Plate  69. 

Plate  70. 

Plate  71. 


Plate  72. 


Plate  73. 


Illustrations 

PAGE 

Another  View  of  the  People  of  Paris  at 
Work  on  the  Champ  de  Mars      .  -134 

A  Fanciful  Representation  of  the  King 
Aiding  in  the  Work  of  Transforming 
the  Champ  de  Mars  .  .  -135 

A  Caricature  of  Mirabeau's  Brother 
Called  "  Barrel- Mirabeau'  because 
of  his  Love  of  Drink  .  .  -137 

A  Representation  of  the  Fete  of  Federa- 
tion vShowing  the  Deputies  Dancing 
Around  in  Glee  .  .  .  -141 

A  Representation  of  the  Typical  "  Con- 
queror of  the  Bastile"  .  .  -143 

A  Representation  of  the  Dancing  on  the 
Ruins  of  the  Bastile  on  the  Anniver- 
sary of  the  Fall  of  the  Fortress    .  .144 

An  Allegorical  Representation  Showing 
the  King  Accepting  from  the  Hand  of 
France  the  Pact  of  Federation     .  .148 

A  Cartoon  which  Shows  the  Clergy 
Asking  in  Desperation  ' '  What  Am  I  ?  "      1 49 

A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Proper  Treat- 
ment for  anAbbe  who  will  not  Take  the 
Civic  Oath.  The  Mother  Applauds 
the  Castigation         .  .  .  •      151 

A  Representation  of  the  Beatitude  of  a 
Priest  who  has  Taken  the  Patriotic 
Oath.  A  Bishop's  Mitre  is  Within  his 
Reach     .  .  .  .  .  .      153 

The  Representation  of  the  Awful  Fate  in 
Store  for  the  Priest  who  will  not  Take 
the  Civic  Oath.  The  Wind  Whistles 
through  his  Bones    .  .  .  .155 


Illustrations  xxi 

PAGE 

Plate  74.  A  Representation  of  an  Aristocrat-Priest 
Cursinj^  llie  Revolution.  Turn  the 
Page  Upside  Down  .  .  157 

Plate  75.  A  Caricature  of  Marie  Antoinette  as  a 
\'ile  Harpy  Treading  on  the  Constitu- 
tion        ......      158 

Plate    76.     A  Caricature  of  Louis  XVI  as  a  Homed 

Pig 159 

Platf.    77.     A  Caricature  of  Marie  Antoinette  as  an 

Austrian  Pantheress  .160 

Plate  78.  A  Cartoon  which  Shows  the  Devil  Incit- 
ing Pope  Pius  VI  to  Sign  the  Bull 
Condemning  the  Civil  Constitution  of 
the  Clergy        .....      161 

Plate  79.  A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Papal  Bull,  To- 
gether with  all  the  Dillcrcnt  Journals 
which  Favoured  the  Aristocratic 
Party  Being  Consigned  to  the  Flames .      1 63 

Plate  80.  An  Exaggerated  Representation  of  what 
took  Place  in  the  Tuilcrics  on  the 
"Day  of  Daggers, "  Feljruary  28,  1791.     165 

Plate  81 .  What  Purports  to  be  the  Exact  Fonn  of 
the  Infamous  Poniards  Wielded  by 
those  who  Had  llicir  Ears  Boxed,  or 
were  Arrested  or  Driven  Away  from 
the  Tuileries  by  the  National  Guards 
onthc28thof  February,  1 791      .  .168 

Plate  82.  A  Contemporary  Representation  of  tlie 
Pantiieon  "Dedicated  by  a  Grateful 
Country  to  i ts  G  reat  Men."        .  1 69 


xxii  Illustrations 

PAGE 

Plate  83.  A  Portrait  of  Mirabeau,  Issued  at  the 
Time  of  his  Death,  which  Recalls  the 
Episode  of  June  23,  1789,  when  he 
Defied  the  Master  of  Ceremonies  of 
the  King  .....      171 

Plate  84.  A  Facsimile  of  an  Assignat  with  the  Por- 
trait of  Louis  XVI.  This  one  Pur- 
ports to  have  been  Issued  the  Day 
Before  the  Flight  but  is  Officially- 
Stamped  as  a  Forgery         .  .  .182 

Plate  85.  A  Representation  of  the  Return  from 
Varennes  of  the  Royal  Family  under 
Escort  of  National  Guards.  .  .      184 

Plate  86.  Bamave  Represented  as  a  Double- 
Faced  Man  because  of  his  Friendliness 
to  the  King  and  Queen  after  the  Flight 
to  Varennes     .....      187 

Plate  87.  A  Satire  on  the  Failure  of  the  Attempted 
Flight  to  Varennes.  The  King  is 
Pleading  for  Mercy,  the  Queen  is 
Beating  her  Breast  and  Crying  "My 
Fault,  all  my  Fault!"  .  .  .189 

Plate  88.  A  Representation  of  the  Happenings  on 
the  Champ  de  Mars  on  July  17,  1791. 
Mayor  Bailly  after  Seeking  in  Vain  to 
Quell  a  Disturbance  that  had  Arisen 
Ordered  the  National  Guards  to  Fire 
on  the  Mob      .....      193 

Plate  89.  A  Satirical  Representation  Called  "The 
Future  Legislator"  and  Directed 
Against  the  Requirement  that  a 
Deputy  to  be  Eligible  must  Pay  Taxes. 
The  Mark  of  Silver  Destroys  all  Indi- 
viduality .  .  .  .  -195 


lUustraticMis  xxiii 

PAliE 

Plate  90.  An  Allegorical  Representation  of  the 
Acceptance  of  the  Constitution  by 
Louis  X\'I.  The  Faces  seem  to  be 
Actual  Likenesses.  The  Republic 
Personified  is  being  Driven  from  the 
Hall  by  Cupids  with  Whips         .  .      197 

Plate  91 .  A  Cartoon  Intended  to  Show  under  what 
Constraint  Louis  XVI  had  Sanctioned 
the  Constitution  .  .  .201 

Plate  92.  A  Representation  of  a  Foreigner  Joyfully 
Quitting  the  Land  of  Slaves  for  the 
Land  of  Liberty  where  Everything  Is 
Gay  and  Joyous       ....     205 

Plate  93.  A  Representation  Showing  the  Effect 
Wrought  upon  an  Austrian  Sentinel 
at  the  First  Sight  of  the  French  Na- 
tional Cockade.  The  Austrian  Re- 
verses his  Bayonet  and  Places  his 
Hand  upon  his  Heart  .  .     20() 

Plate  94.  A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Perilous  Situa- 
tion of  Louis  XVI.  He  has  Handed 
Down  Several  Cornucopias  full  of 
Sweets  to  the  People  but  they  are  Call- 
ing for  More    .  .  .  .  .207 

Plate  95.  A  Cartoon  Representing  an  Emii^ri  Re- 
turning as  a  Beggar  to  the  Country 
that  he  had  Abandoned      .  .215 

Plate  96.  A  Cartoon  Sh(nving  the  Elector  of 
Treves  Ff)aming  at  the  Mouth  with 
Rage,  Owing  to  the  Action  of  the 
French  Government  in  Demanding 
the  Dispersal  of  the  I^mia^ris  .217 


XXIV 

Plate    97. 


Plate    98. 


Plate    99. 


Plate  100. 


Plate  10  i. 


Plate  102. 


Plate  103. 


Illustrations 

A  Cartoon  Representing  Louis  XVI  as 
"King  Janus"  with  one  Face  Turned 
towards  the  Constitution  and  the 
Other  towards  the  Non-juring  Clergy . 

A  Cartoon  Showing  the  PoHtical  Situa- 
tion at  the  End  of  the  Year  1791. 
Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette, 
Curiously  enough,  are  Stemming  the 
Course  of  Invasion  which  Sweden, 
Denmark,  Russia  and  the  Emigres 
are  Furthering  .... 

A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Nations  in  the 
Act  of  Closing  in  upon  Louis  XVI 
whose  only  Hope  of  Rescue  is  in 
Blanchard  the  Famous  Balloonist  who 
is  Hovering  over  the  Scene 

A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Emigres  and 
the  Foreign  Powers  Stirring  the 
Flames  and  Giving  the  Deputies 
Assembled  at  the  Jacobin  Club  a  Hot 
Time.  The  Deputies  are  Dancing 
Round  in  Agony       .... 


PAGE 


219 


223 


225 


227 


A  Cartoon  Showing  Lafayette  Upheld 
by  Luckner  and  Rochambeau,  Trying 
to  Take  the  Moon  in  his  Teeth.  The 
Invasion  of  the  German  Empire  Is  a 
similar  Foolhardy  Enterprise     .  .     229 

A  Depiction  of  Cupid  as  a  Sans  Culotte 
Placing  a  Wreath  on  the  Altar  of 
Equality.  .  .  .  .  .231 

A  Depiction  of  the  Typical  Sans  Cu- 
lotte of  Paris  with  his  Pike,  the 
Weapon  of  the  Revolution,  and  the 
Cockade  in  his  Hat.  .  .  .235 


Illustrations 

Plate  104.  A  Rejjrcsentation  of  the  Scene  in  the 
Tuilcries  Palace  on  June  20,  174)2, 
when  the  Mob  Broke  in  and  Tried  to 
Force  Louis  XVI  to  Rescind  his  Veto 
of  the  Decrees  Providinjj  for  a  Camp 
near  Paris  and  Enacting'  still  Severer 
Penalties  aj^ainst  the  Non-Jurinj:^ 
Cleri^y    ...... 

Plate  105.  A  Portrait  of  P6tion,  Man  of  the  Hour 
and  Idolized  Mayor  of  Paris.  He  is 
Enshrined  in  the  Popular  Heart  under 
the  Protectinj^  Folds  of  the  Tri- 
Colored  Ribbon.     Note  the  Heart 

Platr  106.  A  Xewspaper  Illustration  from  the 
Revolutions  de  Paris  which  Incident- 
ally Shows  the  Fla^'  with  "The  Coun- 
try is  in  Danj^er!"  Hanging  from  the 
H6teldeVille  .... 


XXV 

PAGE 


237 


240 


241 


Plate  107.  A  Representation  of  the  Burning  Em- 
blems of  Feudalism  at  the  Celebration 
in  Memory  of  the  14th  of  July,  1789, 
Held  on  July  14,  1792  .      243 


Pl.vte  108.  A  Representation  of  Devotion  to  Coun- 
try. At  the  Call,  "The  Country  in 
Danger,"  all  Prepare  to  Sacrifice  that 
which  they  HoM  Most  Dear— Hus- 
bands, Children,  Jewels  .      244 

Plate  109.  A  Representation  of  Cupid  as  a  Volun- 
teer, Showing  that  the  Thought  of 
Marching  Against  the  IChemy  was  the 
One  Dominant  Sentiment  of  the 
Moment  .....      245 


XXVI 

Plate  iio. 
Plate  hi. 
Plate  112. 
Plate  113. 


Illustrations 


Plate  114. 


Plate  115. 


Plate  116. 


A  Contemporary  Newspaper  Illustra- 
tion (from  the  Revolutions  de  Paris) 
of  the  Pulling  Down  of  the  Statues  of 
Louis  XIV  in  the  Place  Venddme  and 
the  Place  des  Victoires 

A  Representation  of  the  Faced  Cards  in 
a  Revolutionary  Pack.  The  Kings 
are  Supplanted  by  "Geniuses,"  the 
Queens  by  "Liberties"  and  the 
Knaves  by  "Equalities"  . 

A  Representation  of  Revolutionary 
Playing  Cards  in  which  the  Kings  are 
"Sages,"  the  Queens  "Virtues,"  the 
Knaves  "  Heroes "     .  .  .  . 


Plate  117. 
Plate  118. 


A  Portrait  of    Robespierre. 
Oil  Painting     . 


From  an 


A  Portrait  of  Lafayette  Engraved  at  the 
Time  of  his  Appointment  as  Com- 
mander of  the  National  Guards 


PAGE 


The  Words  and  Music  of  the  Marseil- 
laise. From  a  Copy  of  the  Song  Pub- 
lished in  London  in  November,  1792    .      249 

A  Representation  of  French  Soldiers,  lull 
of  Grim  Determination  Marching  to 
the  Chorus  ' '  To  Arms,  Citizens ! "        .     251 

A  Representation  of  the  Storming  of  the 
Tuileries.  From  a  Contemporary  Oil 
Painting  .....      257 

A  Representation  of  the  Lion  Carved  in 
the  Rock  at  Lucerne  by  Thorwaldsen 
in  Memory  of  the  Swiss  Guards  who 
Fell  on  August  loth  and  September 
3rd.     From  an  Old  Engraving    . 


259 


263 


265 


267 


269 


273 


Illustrations  xxvii 

PAGE 

Plate  i  19.     A  Representation  of   the  Guillotine  as 

a  line  Prop  for  Liberty  .  275 

Plate  120.     A   Portrait  of   Danton.      From  an  Oil 

Painting  .....      277 

Pl.\te  121.  A  Cartoon  Representing  the  Opening  of 
tin.'  Secret  Iron  Safe  and  Showing 
Roland  and  the  Man  who  had  Be- 
trayed the  Secret  Facing  the  Skeleton 
of  Mirabeau  which  Holds  the  Crown 
in  One  Hand  and  a  Bag  of  Money  in 
the  Other 283 

Pl.\te  122.  A  Cartoon  Representing  the  Hand- 
writing on  the  Wall  and  Bidding  Louis 
the  Traitor  Read  his  Sentence.  God 
has  Weighed  him  in  the  Balance  and 
Found  him  Wanting.  Below,  the 
Guillotine  Awaits  him        .  .     285 

Pl.\te  \2t^.  a  Cartoon  Likening  Louis  XVT  to  a 
Piece  of  Out-of-Date  Mone\-  and  Re- 
commending that  ho  be  Melted  up  286 

Pl.vte  124.  A  Gruesome  Cartoon  Making  Fun  of  the 
Priests  who  were  Massacred  (»n  Sep- 
tember 3,  1 792.  They  arc  Represented 
as  Having  had  Their  Noses  Pulled  291 

Plate  125.     A  Portrait  of   Roland.       I>om  an  Old 

Engraving        .....     297 

Plate  126.  A  Portrait  of  ^Ladamc  Roland  Taken 
From  the  Cover  of  a  Bonbonnit^re  in 
the  Mus^eCamavalet  .      2<)9 

Plate  127.     A  Caricature  of  Monsieur  and  Madame 

Roland    .  .  .  .  .  .      .V»> 


XXVlll 


Illustrations 


Plate  128. 


Plate  129. 


Plate  130. 


Plate  131. 
Plate  132. 

Plate  133. 


Plate  134. 

Plate  135. 
Plate  136. 

Plate  137. 
Plate  138. 


PAGE 

A  Complicated  Political  Rebus  Warning 
the  Honnetes  Ge7is  or  True  Patriots 
Against  Three  Prominent  Girondists: 
Petion,  Roland  and  Claviere       .  ,301 

A  Caricature  on  the  Withdrawal  of  the 
Austrians  and  Prussians  after  the 
Battlesof  Valmy  andGenappes  .      303 

A  Gennan  Puzzle  Showing  the  Hydra  of 
Revolution  Devouring  the  Fleur-de-lis 
and  Breaking  the  Crown,  Sceptre  and 
Sword.  There  are  Four  Concealed 
Silhouettes      ..... 


A  Symbolical  Representation  of  Victory 
Traversing  the  Republic    . 


The  Official  Letter-Head  of  Genet, 
Minister  of  the  French  Republic  to 
the  United  States  of  America    . 

A  Republican  Medal  .  . 

The  French  Republic  Represented  as  a 
Ship  Guided  by  Liberty 

A  Personification  of  Republican  France 

A  Personification  of  Liberty  with  the 
Broken  Yoke.  .... 


304 


306 


A  Symbolical  Representation  of  the  Pro- 
gress of  Liberty,  Enlightenment  and 
Republicanism  ....      307 

A  Cartoon  Showing  the  Progress  of 
Republicanism  and  the  Inevitable 
Fate  of  Each  and  All  of  the  Rulers  of 
Europe.  Time  is  Mowing  Them 
Down  and  Extinguishing  their  Life- 
Lights     ..... 


308 

310 
311 

312 
313 

314 


Illustrations  xxix 


PAGE 


Plate  139.     A  Personification  of  Equality  with  the 

Carpenter's  Level     .  .  -315 

Plate  140.     A  Personification  of  Fraternity  with  the 

Belt  of  Hearts  .  .  .316 

Plate  141.  A  Cartoon  Entitled  "  Matter  for  Reflec- 
tion for  Crowned  Juj^^'lcrs."  Under 
the  Severed  Head  of  Louis  XVI  is  the 
Line  from  the  Marseillaise,  "May  an 
Impure  Blood  Water  our  Furrows!".     319 

Plate  142.     A  Portrait  of  Louis  XVI  En<^raved  by 
some    Royahst    and    with     I  he    Line 
underneath:  "O  My  Kin.<;!    The  Uni- 
verse <//</ Abandon  Thee!"  323 

Plate  143.  A  Memorial  to  Lepelletier  St.-Fargeau 
Covered  with  Inscriptions  in  his 
Honour  and  Pronouncing  the  Death- 
Penalty  Against  Anyone  who  Should 
Harl)our  his  Murderer  .  .      325 

Plate  144.  An  Allegorical  Representation  Entitled 
"The  Coalition"  and  Showing  the 
Powers  of  Europe  Attacking  the 
Young  French  Repul)lic.  She,  Calm 
and  Smiling  will  not  let  them  Touch 
so  much  as  a  Hair  of  her  Head     .  327 

Plate  145.  A  Caricature  on  the  Subject  of  the 
Arrest  by  Dumouriez  of  the  Com- 
missioners Sent  by  the  National  Con- 
vention to  Arrest  him        .  .  .      3^9 

Plate  146.     A  Portrait  of  Charlotte  Corday.    From 

the  Painting  by  Himer  35i 

Plate  147.  A  Pc^rtrait  of  Marat  Engraved  from  his 
Death- Mask  and  Showing  the  Caping 
Wcjund  in  his  Breast  353 


XXX  Illustrations 

PAGE 

Plate  148.  A  Representation  of  the  Tomb  in  which 
Marat's  Remains  were  Placed  before 
being  Transferred  to  the  Pantheon.  It 
Faced  the  "National  Palace,"  for- 
merly the  Tuileries   .  .  .  -355 

Plate  149.     A  Representation  of  the  First  Stage  of 
the  F^te  to  Unity  and  Indivisibility. 
The  Fountain  of  Regeneration  is  to  be 
Erected  on  the  Site  of  the  Bastile         .     356 

Plate  150.  A  Representation  of  the  Second  Stage  of 
the  Fete  to  Unity  and  Indivisibility. 
The  Meeting  with  the  "Heroines  of 
Liberty"  .....     360 

Plate  151.     A  Representation  of  the  Third  Stage  of 
the  Fete  to  Unity  and  Indivisibility. 
The  Statue  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty 
was  on  the  Pedestal  of  the  Old  Statue 
of  Louis  XV     .....     362 

Plate  152.  A  View  of  the  Place  de  la  Revolution 
(now  Place  de  la  Concorde)  with  the 
Statue  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  .     363 

Plate  153.  A  Representation  of  the  Fourth  Stage  of 
the  Fete  to  Unity  and  Indivisibility. 
A  Colossal  Figure  Symbolizing  the 
French  People  is  Annihilating  the 
Monster  Called  Federalism         .  .     364 

Plate  154.  A  Representation  of  the  Fifth  Stage  of 
the  F6te  to  Unity  and  Indivisibility. 
On  the  Altar  of  the  Fatherland 
(Champ  de  Mars)  the  President  of  the 
Convention  is  Announcing  the  Accept- 
ance of  the  New  Constitution      .  .     365 


Illustrations  xxxi 

PA(.a-; 
Plate  155.     A  Representation  of  the  Sixth  Sta^e  of 
the  Fdte  to  Unity  and  IndivisibiHty. 
The  Temple  Is  in  Hontmr  of  the  Dead 
Warriors  .....     367 

Plate  156.     A  S\Tnbohcal  Representation  of  Unity 

and  Indivisibility      ....      368 

Pl.\te  157.  A  S}'mbolical  Representation  of  Unity 
and  Indivisibility  Watched  Over  by 
the  Vij^ilant  Eye  of  the  Jacobins  .     369 

Plate  158.  An  Emblem  of  the  Reijj^n  of  Terror. 
There  Is  to  be  no  Mean  between 
Liberty  and  Death    ....     372 

Plate  159.  A  Representation  of  Liberty  and  her 
Great  Martyrs  Lepelletier,  Marat  and 
Chalier  whose  Deaths  Cry  for  Ven- 
geance     373 

Pl.\te  160.  A  Cartoon  Summing  up  the  Regime  of 
Robespierre  and  Showinj;  the  French- 
man Blindly  Gropinj^  for  Liberty, 
Equality  and  Fraternity  with  Death 
Ever  at  Hand  as  the  Alternative  38 1 

Pl.\te  161.  A  Representation  of  Marie  Antoinette  in 
her  Prison  Cell  in  the  Concierj^jerie. 
The  Plan  Shows  the  Arranj^^'cment  of 
the  Cell  and  also  of  the  one  Occui)ied 
by  the  Gendannes   ....     3S4 

Plate  162.  A  Sketch  of  Marie  Antoinette  made  by 
David  as  she  Passed  his  Window  in  the 
Death-Cart  on  her  Way  to  Execution  .     3S7 

Plate  163.  A  Representation  of  a  Memorial  Um 
with  the  Silhouettes  of  Louis  XVI  and 
Marie  Antoinette      ....      3S9 


xxxu 
Plate  164. 

Plate  165. 
Plate  166. 
Plate  167. 


[llustrations 


Plate  168. 


Plate  169. 


Plate  170. 


Plate  171. 


PAGE 


A  Revolutionary  Calendar.  This  Served 
as  well  for  one  Year  as  for  Another  and 
for  one  Month  as  for  Another      .  .     400 


A  Representation  of  Reason. 
Eye,  the  Jacobin  Emblem 


Note  the 


A  Representation  of  Love  and  Reason 
Embracing.     ByBartolozzi 

A  Production  Representing  Robespierre 
as  the  Sun  Rising  Above  the  Moun- 
tain and  Giving  Light  to  the  Universe. 
There  is  a  Text  in  the  original  which 
Is  omitted  here  as  it  could  not  be 
Brought  within  Compass . 

A  Representation  of  the  Mountain 
Erected  over  the  Altar  to  the  Father- 
land on  the  Champ  de  Mars  and  of  the 
National  Convention  Marching  up  to 
the  Summit  at  the  Fdte  to  the  Supreme 
Being      ...... 

A  Caricature  of  Robespierre's  Regime. 
Other  Victims  Failing  him  the  Execu- 
tioner is  Guillotining  himself 

An  Allegorical  Representation  of  Equal- 
ity Triumphing  Over  Robespierre  and 
his  Adherents.  The  Workmanship 
Looks  like  that  of  David  who  so  Re- 
cently had  Glorified  Robespierre 


402 


407 


417 


422 


427 


437 


The  Place  de  la  Concorde,  formerly 
Place  de  la  Revolution  and  Place  Louis 
Quinze    ......     440 


Symbol  and  Satire  in  the  French 
Revolution 


Symbol  and  Satire  in  the 
French   Revolution 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY 

IN  dealing  with  the  causes  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, too  little  stress  has  been  laid  by  historians 
on  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  people — 
characteristics  that  have  since,  let  us  hope,  been 
modified  by  education,  by  contact  with  other 
nations,  and  by  the  general  progress  of  the  race. 
Looking  back  on  the  course  of  events,  one  can 
hardly  avoid  subscribing  to  the  criticism  of  Senac 
de  Mcilhan, '  a  Frenchman  himself,  who  wrote 
frankly,  in  1795,  that  the  frivolity  and  hot-headcd- 
ness  of  the  French  character  bore  in  it  "all  the 
germs  of  a  revolution  that  one  would  vainly  seek 
in  the  multitude  of  abuses."  Marat  himself  once 
wrote  of  France  as  "  unfortunately  the  most  frivol- 
ous  of    all    the   nations    of    the   world  "■';    while 

'  Du    gouvernement  .  .  .  en   France  avanl   la    Revolution,  Hamburg, 

1 795,  P-  134- 

'  Journal  de  la  Republifjue  Fran^aise,  No.  15. 

I 


2  The  French  Revolution 

Dumouriez,  too,  the  famous  general,  speaks  of 
"the  impetuous  character  of  this  volcanic  na- 
tion."' Certainly  there  seems  to  have  been  a 
great  lack  of  ability  to  form  calm  judgments  or  to 
appreciate  the  logic  of  facts. 

This  was  undoubtedly  due  in  part  to  misgovern- 
ment  under  the  old  regime.  It  is  incredible  how 
little  had  been  done  for  the  education  of  the  people. 
There  were  parts  of  the  kingdom  in  which  educa- 
tional establishments  were  altogether  lacking; 
there  were  others  where  the  public-school  teachers 
were  so  scantily  paid  that  they  had  to  beg  from 
door  to  door ;  the  universities  turned  out  graduates 
not  fitted  to  teach  even  the  most  elementary 
branches.  In  a  list  of  complaints  handed  in  to 
the  States- General  by  the  Paris  clergy,  there  is  a 
request  that  the  university  henceforth  give  degrees 
to  no  one  "who  has  not  done  a  piece  of  work  and 
acquired  some  knowledge,"  while  the  clergy  of 
Mantes  petition  that  the  children  of  their  district  at 
least  be  taught  to  read,  "so  that  when  they  grow 
up  they  will  be  less  likely  to  be  surprised."  " 

Doubtless  the  example  of  Louis  XV,  too,  had 
done  much  to  encourage  immorality.  "Morals?" 
writes  a  journalist,-'  "alas!  we  no  longer  have  any; 
no  nation  is  more  immoral."  In  the  National 
Assembly  itself,  there  are  allusions  to  the  dangers  the 
country  members  run  in  coming  to  wicked  Paris. 
A  formal  report  fixes  the  number  of  gambling 
hells  in  the  capital  at  no  less  than  three  thou- 

'  Memoires,  ii.,  24.  ^  Champion,  Les  Cahiers  de  lySg,  199-209. 

3  Prudhomme. 


Introductory  3 

sand.  The  clergy  ascribe  the  evils  to  the  increas- 
ing disregard  for  religion,  to  the  frightful  progress 
of  incredulity,  to  the  "unbridled  license  with  which 
in  our  day  men  hurl  themselves  on  so  vener- 
able a  cult."  They  speak  of  the  "impious  and 
audacious  sect  that  desecrates  its  false  wisdom 
with  the  name  of  philosophy  and  labours  to  over- 
throw the  altars."  As  the  prelude  to  a  music- 
drama  contains  strains  that  are  to  recur  later,  so 
these  complaints  sent  in  to  the  States- General 
sound  the  first  notes  of  much  that  was  to  be 
distinctive  of  the  Revolution. 

The  more  one  studies  the  period  the  more  one 
finds  what  an  immense  influence  was  exercised  by 
the  teachings  of  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau.  Doubt- 
less it  is  his  followers  who  arc  referred  to  as  an 
"impious  and  audacious  sect."  Already  in  1791, 
Mercier,  better  known  for  his  Tableau  dc  Paris, 
published  a  work  entitled  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau 
Cousidered  as  One  of  the  Prime  Authors  of  the 
Rrt'olutiofi  in  which  he  declares  that  Rousseau's 
maxims  had  been  incorporated  in  the  majority  of 
the  existing  French  laws  and  that  the  Control 
Social  was  the  lever  by  wliich  the  enormous 
Colossus  of  despotism  had  been  overthrown.  Temis 
invented  by  the  philosophers  had  become  the  coin 
of  common  parlance. 

Rousseau,  doubtless,  is  even  responsible  lor  the 
symbolism — as  we  know  he  is  for  the  sentimental- 
ism — of  the  period.  'Hie  vignette  of  the  original 
edition  of  the  Contrat  Social  di.splays  Justice  with 
the  scales  in  one  hand  and  the  spear  and  cap  of 


4  The  French  Revolution 

Liberty  in  the  other.  The  worship  of  reason  and 
of  the  Supreme  Being  are  outgrowths  of  his  teach- 
ings; it  is  he  who  inspired  Robespierre  with  the 
idea  of  reducing  God  to  a  tutelary  deity  of  France. 
Rousseau  insists  on  this  adoration  of  one's  country, 
declaring  that  to  die  for  it  is  martyrdom,  to  violate 
its  laws  impiety— yes,  he  urges  the  putting  to  death 
of  any  one  who  is  false  to  a  patriotic  profession  of 
faith  once  made : — such  a  one  * '  has  committed  the 
gravest  of  crimes,  he  has  lied  before  the  law." 

Rousseau  gave  precepts,  but  another  great  influ- 
ence, too,  was  at  work:  that  of  example — the  ex- 
ample of  the  young  republic  that  had  been  founded 
across  the  seas  and  the  Constitution  of  which  had 
been  adopted  in  the  year  in  which  the  French  dis- 
turbances began. 

Already  in  1778,  Turgot,  who  had  been  dismissed 
from  his  position  as  Minister  of  Finance  under 
Louis  XVI,  writes  that  America  is  the  hope  of  the 
human  race  and  may  become  its  model;  that  the 
world  will  now  learn  to  exist  without  the  chains 
imposed  by  tyrants  and  charlatans  in  every  dress; 
that  the  earth  may  seek  consolation  in  the  thought 
of  the  asylum  now  open  to  the  down-trodden  of  all 
nations.  What  a  commentary  on  the  state  of 
things  in  his  own  country  when  he  asks  his  corre- 
spondent not  to  answer  these  reflections  because  the 
letter  would  surely  be  opened  in  the  post  and  he, 
Turgot,  would  be  looked  upon  as  too  great  a 
friend  of  liberty ! ' 

'  Turgot's  letter,  to  Dr.  Price,  is  published  as  an  appendix  to  Mira- 
beau's  Cotisideratiojis  sur  Vordre  de  Cincinnatus,  London,  1785. 


Introductory  5 

In  1781,  Abbe  Raynal  writes  of  the  American 
Revolution:  "At  the  sound  of  the  snapping  chains 
our  own  fetters  seem  to  grow  lighter  and  we 
imagine  for  a  moment  that  the  air  we  breathe 
grows  purer  at  the  news  that  the  universe  counts 
some  tyrants  the  less."  In  17S3,  the  Due  de  la 
Rochefoucauld  with  his  own  hand  translated  all 
thirteen  of  the  constitutions  of  the  American 
States,  publishing  them  anonymously';  while 
Mercier,  in  1791,  states  distinctly:  "The  emanci- 
pation of  America  gave  us  the  thoughts  and 
presently  the  voice  of  free  men;  it  made  us  see  the 
possibility  of  resistance  and  the  need  of  a  consti- 
tution." He  tells  us  that  the  troops  sent  across 
the  ocean  had  come  back  as  if  electrified. 

From  1 777  to  1785  there  had  resided  at  Paris  the 
great  American  to  whom  the  whole  civilized  world 
looked  up  with  reverence.  When  people  would 
come  to  Franklin  to  ask  how  the  American  Revolu- 
tion was  progressing,  his  stereotyped  answer  was 
fa  ira;  and  later  these  words  were  adopted  as  the 
refrain  of  one  of  the  most  popular  French  revolu- 
tionary songs.  "Homage  to  FrankHn!"  cried  tlie 
Mayor  of  Auteuil  at  a  civic  fdte  held  in  i7(>J;  'die 
gave  us  our  first  lessons  in  liberty ;  he  was  the  first 
journalist  of  the  hamlets;  hv  wrote  the  proverbs 
of  Poor  Richard ;  he  even  invented  the  refrain  i^a 
irn,  an  air  so  dear  to  patriots!'" 

'  My  '.wii  c(jpy  was  a  presentation  aipy  ex  dono  Domini  Ducts  de  la 
Rochefoucauld,  and  tlic  dciiicatiun  ^ocs  on  to  state  that  the  Duke  was 
the  translator. 

'  Both  the  Montteur  and  the  Feutllc  VdlaReoise  give  this  credit  to 
Franklin  for  the  (,a  tra. 


6  The  French  Revolution 

Franklin  once  declared  that  through  the  many 
portraits  that  had  been  made  of  him  his  face  must 
have  become  as  familiar  as  that  of  the  man  in  the 
moon.  Men  dressed  a  la  Franklin;  mothers  loved 
to  give  his  name  to  their  babies.  His  bust,  long 
after  his  departure,  figured  side  by  side  with  that 
of  Rousseau  at  republican  fetes. ' 

Editor  Prudhomme,  in  1790,  declared  that  philo- 
sophy and  America  had  brought  about  the  Revolu- 
tion. What  then  of  the  oppression  by  the  nobles, 
the  want  and  misery  of  the  people?  Both  have 
been  exaggerated.  We  know  now  from  a  careful 
study  of  the  plaints  and  grievances  submitted  to 
the  States- General  that  actually  more  assemblages 
of  nobles  demanded  reform  of  some  of  the  chief 
abuses  than  was  the  case  with  assemblages  of  the 
people.  It  was  the  nobles  of  Paris  who  first 
demanded  the  destruction  of  the  Bastile.  The 
nobles  and  clergy  in  general  were  just  as  eager  for  a 
constitution,  for  responsible  ministers,  and  for  cur- 
tailment of  the  king's  privileges,  as  was  the  third 
estate  itself.  To  be  sure  these  same  nobles  were 
consumed  by  pride  of  caste  and  showed  a  galling 
contempt  for  the  roturier.  In  these  very  com- 
plaints some  of  them  demanded  that  nobles  of 
either  sex  be  distinguished  from  the  common  herd 
by  some  distinctive  mark — a  cross,  a  scarf,  a  cord, 
the  exclusive  right  to  wear  the  sword  as  an  emblem 
of  their  courage  and  their  virtues. 

The  old  explanation  of  the  Revolution  as  the 

'  In  Plate  i,  p.  7,  we  have  Liberty  crowning  Franklin  at  one  of  these 
fgtes. 


Plate    I. — Liberty  crowning  Benjamin  Franklin, 
child  is  puinlinK  <>ut  tlic  close  proximity  of 
Philadelphia  to  Paris.) 


(The 


8  The  French  Revolution 

sudden  uprising  of  a  people  wronged  and  oppressed 
beyond  human  endurance  is  no  longer  satisfactory. 
It  has  been  estimated'  that  the  feudal  dues  about 
which  so  much  has  been  written  could  not  have 
amounted  to  much  more  than  two  per  cent,  of  the 
gross  product  of  the  soil.  Carlyle  speaks,  indeed, 
of  a  "dark,  living  chaos  of  ignorance  and  hunger 
five  and  twenty  millions  strong,"  but  the  whole 
population  of  France  was  only  25,000,000  and 
there  must  have  been  a  great  number  of  persons 
engaged  in  profitable  commercial  enterprises,  for 
statistics  show  that  the  exports  and  imports 
amounted  in  1787  to  eight  hundred  million  francs. 
When  the  lands  of  the  clergy  were  placed  on  sale 
in  1790,  the  lower  classes  invested  in  them  to  the 
extent  of  billions.  We  know  now  that  those  who 
started  the  Revolution  were  not  the  impecunious 
but  the  comparatively  well-to-do  —  those  who 
feared  for  their  investments,  for  their  annuities 
should  the  state  become  bankrupt;  those  who 
dreaded  the  influence  of  the  proletariat.  These 
same  earliest  Revolutionists  had  a  clause  inserted 
in  their  new  constitution  restricting  the  ballot  to 
property  owners. 

Were  the  peasants  then  not  oppressed  and  un- 
happy? Assuredly,  though  probably  not  much 
more  so  than  at  any  time  during  the  previous  two 
centuries.  But  the  cost  of  living  had  increased 
for  all;  the  harvest  in  1788  had  been  bad;  unrest 
was  spreading;  the  fundamental  injustice  of  it  all 
was   beginning   to   be   appreciated.     It   is   to   be 

•  Jaures,  i,  19. 


■N 


F     POUR     LA    PEINE 


.  IJhtiLin 

vViM  irj  feimt  au  mifirii  li  un  <  '^•im/' 
Par  /■'   t'Aaiftir  pttr  fa  /r,ttt/wi' 
X.'j^  9aH  I*  P.ita)rf  Pau^art         [ 


(/<         I   iI/ulJl 


Fritifltt/fr    tnttt  .fill-    f  I'iff-     Jiir 
Pf  tfUO<  I'tl'i 


Plate  2.     Born  to  trouble.     (A  coinparison  of  the  peasant  with 

domestic  animals.) 
9 


10  The  French  Revolution 

feared,  too,  that  agitators,  for  poHtical  ends,  delib- 
erately stirred  up  the  people.  By  whom  else  could 
the  cartoon  entitled  "Born  to  trouble"  have  been 
issued?'  The  peasant  would  not  have  gone  to  the 
expense  himself,  nor  is  it  likely  that  the  production 
emanated  either  from  the  clergy  or  the  nobles. 
The  engraving  shows  the  poor  peasant  burdened 
down  with  his  tools  and  his  flail  and  feeding  his 
poultry.  The  cock,  perched  on  his  hat,  is  there  to 
wake  him  at  daybreak  with  its  crowing.  Through 
heat  and  through  cold,  from  year's  end  to  year's 
end,  he  has  to  toil  early  and  late.  And  for  what? 
All  roads  lead  to  the  house  of  the  tax-collector. 
In  what  do  the  attributes  of  the  peasant  differ 
from  those  of  the  animals  around  him?  He  works 
merely  for  others,  even  as  the  cow  gives  milk  or 
the  bee  amasses  honey  for  others  to  enjoy.  No 
more  respect  is  paid  to  him  than  to  the  pig,  which 
is  scorned  and  despised  even  by  those  who  know 
that  it  is  necessary. 

Productions  like  this,  of  course,  tended  to  make 
the  so-called  privileged  classes — ^the  clergy  and  the 
nobility — more  and  more  unpopular.  Louis  XVI 
was  not,  as  yet,  personally  attacked.  The  fiction 
was  long  to  be  kept  up  that  even  where  his  acts 
seemed  oppressive,  foolish,  or  bad,  this  was  to 
be  credited  not  to  himself  but  to  his  evil  coun- 
sellors. For  this  good  but  weak  king  there  was 
still  a  great  feeling  of  love  and  loyalty.  He  was 
such  a  vast  improvement  over  his  predecessor, 
under  the  hie  jacet  of  whose  tombstone  some  wag, 

'  See  Plate  2,  p.  9 


Introductt^r)'  ii 

voicing  the  common  sentiment,  had  written 
Deo  gratias! 

But  how  incredibly  incompetent  Louis  X\^I  was! 
Already  before  he  came  to  the  throne  the  Austrian 
minister,  Mercy  d'Argenteau,  had  written  of  him": 
"Though  endowed  with  sense  and  good  qualities, 
the  Dauphin  will  probably  never  have  either  the 
force  or  the  will  to  rule  by  himself.  If  not  by  the 
Dauphiness.  he  will  be  governed  by  some  one  else." 
What  are  we  to  think  of  a  man  who  burst  into 
tears  when  scolded  by  his  wife  for  being  late  to 
dinner,  and  who,  at  one  time,  was  so  enraptured  of 
the  game  of  bhnd  man's  buff  that  serious-minded 
persons  could  suspect  a  plot  to  withdraw  his  atten- 
tion from  an  impending  war? 

This  Mercy  d'Argenteau  who  relates  these  inci- 
dents was  himself  the  evil  genius  of  France.  If 
Marie  Antoinette  was  to  govern  her  husband,  it 
was  Mercy's  avowed  intention,  as  accredited  agent 
of  Austria,  to  govern  Marie  Antoinette.  He  never 
quite  accomplished  his  object,  but  he  tainted  all 
her  conceptions,  encouraged  her  in  underhanded 
intrigue,  impressed  her  with  a  sense  of  her  power 
and  influence,  and  did  more  than  any  one  else  to 
make  her  deserve  the  epithet,  later  to  be  hurled 
at  her  with  such  deadly  effect,  of  V Aiitrichionic! 
Mercy  once  writes  to  Marie  Antoinette's  mother, 
the  Empress  Maria  Theresa,  that  he  has  spies  in 
every  room  the  Dauphiness  is  likely  to  enter;  again 
and  again  he  tells  how  he  has  insinuated  opinions 
and  advised  not  merely  courses  of  action,  but  even 

'  Correspondence,  ii.,  31. 


12  The  French  Revolution 

the  very  attitude  and  style  of  language  he  wishes 
her  to  adopt. 

It  was  a  poor  service  this  imperial  mother  and 
her  minister  rendered  the  poor  young  Queen  of 
France.  They  helped  her  to  consummate  the  ruin 
of  her  adopted  country.  There  were  times  when 
the  most  important  matters  of  state  were  decided 
by  her  mere  whim.  She  writes  herself  in  1775  that 
the  departure  of  Minister  Aiguillon  has  been  en- 
tirely her  work.  Still  worse,  in  the  following  year, 
her  intrigues  contributed  largely  to  driving  out 
Turgot,  the  one  man  who  still  could  have  saved 
France.  "The  Queen's  project,"  writes  Mercy, 
"was  to  make  the  King  dismiss  Turgot  and  even 
put  him  in  the  Bastile."  And  Mercy  writes  of 
Breteuil  who  wishes  a  place  in  the  ministry:  "I 
shall  show  him  that  his  best  means  of  achieving 
this  lies  in  the  protection  of  the  Queen."  "I 
insinuated  to  the  Queen  every  shade  of  language 
she  is  to  use  either  to  the  ministers  or  to  the  King, " 
Mercy  writes  in  1778,  in  connection  with  French 
policies  of  the  utmost  importance.  He  tells  how, 
with  the  Queen's  aid,  he  means  to  hoodwink  the 
French  Prime  Minister  and,  later,  he  gravely  con- 
siders the  wisdom  of  putting  another,  Lomenie  de 
Brienne,  in  the  Prime  Minister's  place  and  induces 
Marie  Antoinette  to  procure  the  cordon  hleu  for 
Lomenie. 

The  recklessness  with  which  the  Queen  indulged 
in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  must  have  made  her 
seem  all  the  more  unfit  to  exercise  such  enormous 
political  influence.     She  was  constantly  rushing  to 


Introductory  13 

Paris  to  attend  public  balls  which  lasted  until  six 
or  seven  in  the  moniing.  Mercy  himself  reports 
that  in  February,  1777,  she  has  been  to  two  balls 
at  the  Palais  Royal  and  to  five  or  six  masqued  ones 
at  the  Opera-House;  that  she  has  talked  to  all  sorts 
of  people  and  has  walked  round  accompanied  by 
young  men,  among  them  many  Englishmen,  for 
whom  she  shows  a  marked  preference ;  and  that  her 
familiarity  of  manner  is  sure  to  offend  the  public. 
Meanwhile,  the  extravagance  of  the  court  was 
becoming  more  and  more  of  a  popular  grievance, 
and  the  blame  for  it  was  being  more  and  more 
thrown  on  Marie  Antoinette's  shoulders.  She  has 
favourites,  Madame  de  Lamballe  and  Madame  de 
Polignac,  on  whom  she  showers  gifts  and  pensions 
that  not  only  help  to  deplete  the  Treasury  but  also 
serve  to  make  others  envious  and  jealous.  For  her- 
self she  spends  enormous  sums  on  jewels.  Once,  in 
almost  the  same  breath  in  which  she  is  discussing 
the  hardships  caused  by  certain  financial  meas- 
ures, she  announces  her  intention  of  buying  dia- 
monds worth  460,000  francs.  Her  own  special 
palace  and  park — the  little  Trianon — devour  im- 
mense sums.  The  whole  park  is  transformed  from 
a  French  formal,  into  an  English  infomial,  garden, 
with  a  lake,  a  grotto,  a  hamlet  of  thatched  cottages, 
a  stream  meandering  through  a  meadow,  wonderful 
little  marble  pavilions,  a  theatre,  a  temi)le  of  love. 
Her  gaml)ling,  too,  becomes  a  public  scandal.  The 
King  once,  without  a  murmur,  pays  her  debts  to 
the  amount  of  half  a  million  francs,  while  Mercy 
objects  not  so  much  to  her  playing  as  to  her  aireless 


14  The  French  Revolution 

methods,  which  make  it  almost  inevitable  that  she 
should  lose.  And  there  are  indecorous  scenes,  too 
— accusations  of  false  play,  the  letting  down  of  the 
social  barriers  in  favour  of  those  who  have  money 
to  stake. 

These  were  things  that  the  French  nation  never 
forgot.  The  chief  charge  later  hurled  against 
Marie  Antoinette  was  that  she  had  wantonly  dissi- 
pated the  resources  of  France;  that,  sunk  deep  in 
frivolity,  she  had  failed  in  her  duty  as  wife  and 
mother. 

She  had  begun  to  reform — had  consented  that 
her  new-born  daughter  should  have  a  retinue  of 
but  eighty  instead  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  people ; 
had  submitted  to  having  the  appropriation  for 
lighting  the  Versailles  palace  cut  by  Necker  from 
450,000  to  50,000  francs  a  year;  had  refrained  from 
buying  costly  jewels  that  she  coveted,  when  an 
affair  in  which  she  was  merely  an  innocent  victim 
revived  all  the  hatred  against  her  and  ruined  her 
irrevocably  in  the  minds  of  the  French  people. 

It  was  a  diabolical  plot,  this  diamond-necklace 
affair — ^one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  all  the 
annals  of  crime.  A  clever  adventuress,  pretending 
to  be  a  friend  of  the  Queen,  duped  the  ambitious 
Cardinal  de  Rohan — who  was  convinced  that 
Marie  Antoinette's  disfavour  barred  him  from 
playing  the  political  role  he  desired — and  ac- 
quired such  boundless  influence  over  him  that 
she  could  dispose  of  his  enormous  fortune  almost 
at  will. 

A  very  few  words  must  suffice  us  for  this  epi- 


Introductory  15 

sode. '  Madame  do  la  Motto  brought  to  Cardinal 
de  Rohan  letters  apparently  in  Alarie  Antoinette's 
handwriting;  she  persuaded  the  Cardinal  that  the 
Queen  was  relenting;  that  on  a  certain  occasion  the 
Queen  would  make  a  sign  to  him — later,  that 
the  Queen  really  had  made  the  sign.  All  this  was 
not  sufficient  for  the  Cardinal.  He  demanded  a 
personal  interview  with  the  Queen.  This,  too, 
Madame  de  la  Motte,  who  herself  had  never  had  a 
word  with  Marie  Antoinette,  promised  to  procure. 
So  she  decked  out  a  woman  of  the  streets  in  a 
mode  of  dress  the  Queen  was  known  to  affect, 
brought  her  at  dusk  into  the  park  of  the  palace, 
had  her  give  the  Cardinal  a  rose  as  a  sign  of  forgive- 
ness and  begin  to  murmur  soft  words  which  were 
immediately  interrupted  by  the  alarm  that  the 
Comte  d'Artois  was  approaching. 

Thoroughly  convinced  now  that  all  was  as  repre- 
sented, Cardinal  de  Rohan,  ostensibly  for  the 
Queen's  use,  gave  hundreds  of  thousands  of  francs 
to  Madame  de  la  Motte.  Then  the  latter  per- 
suaded him  that  Marie  Ant(^inette,  who  from 
motives  of  economy  had  refused  to  buy  a  certain 
diamond  necklace  worth  more  than  one  and  a 
half  million  francs,  was  secretly  most  desirous  of 
possessing  it,  and,  if  the  Cardinal  would  make  the 
arrangements  with  the  jewellers,  woukl  agree  to 
pay  them  for  it  by  instalments.  We  cannot  follow 
here  the  web  of  deceit  drawn  about  the  jewellers  as 
well  as  about  the  Cardinal.  The  neckhice  found 
its  way  into  Madame  de  la  Motte's  hands  and  the 

'  Funk  Brcntano,  L'affaire  dii  Collier,  stli  c<Iition. 


i6  The  French  Revolution 

diamonds  were  sold  separately  in  London  and  in 
Paris 

Then  came  the  partial  unravelling  of  the  mys- 
tery, the  falling  of  suspicion  on  the  Cardinal,  his 
arrest  at  the  very  moment  when,  clad  in  all  his 
pontifical  robes,  he  was  proceeding  down  the  Galerie 
des  Glaces  to  read  mass  in  the  chapel  of  the  palace. 

In  the  long  trial  that  ensued,  Marie  Antoinette 
lost  her  last  vestige  of  reputation.  She  was  a  party, 
and  many  believed  not  an  innocent  one,  in  a 
cause  celebre.  Pamphlets  unspeakably  vile  were  cir- 
culated against  her.  Her  portrait  was  mutilated; 
she  was  hissed  at  the  opera. 

The  Cardinal,  on  the  other  hand,  when  finally 
acquitted,  was  accompanied  to  his  home  by  ten 
thousand  people. 


But  mere  animosity  against  the  Queen  did 
not  account  for  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution. 
There  were  problems  of  government  involved  that 
demand,  however  briefly,  some  treatment  here. 

Turgot, '  in  1774,  had  inaugurated  a  regime  of 
order  and  economy  that  might  have  staved  off 
disaster.  He  had  even  demanded  that  the  other 
ministers  should  draw  up  budgets  for  their  depart- 
mental expenses — a  radical  innovation.  For  a 
time,  upheld  by  the  King's  favour,  he  had  been  a 
sort  of  financial  dictator.  But  the  pedantic  Parle- 
ment,  or  highest  law  court,  had  treated  him  as  an 

'  In  these  financial  matters,  I  have  followed  mainly  the  works  of 
Gomel,  of  Glagan,  and  of  Chereste. 


Introductory  17 

enemy  of  the  state  and  of  the  monarchy.  Writings 
directly  inspired  by  him  were  condemned  to  be 
pubUcly  burned  as  "contrary  to  the  laws  and 
customs  of  France,  the  sacred  and  inalienable  privi- 
leges of  the  throne,  and  the  rights  of  private  pro- 
perty."  Turgot  himself  was  satirized  as  a  wild 
innovator,  a  dreamer,  a  subverter  of  customs  that 
had  done  very  well  for  a  thousand  years.  His  real 
crime  had  been  that  he  tried  to  equalize  taxation. 
The  Parlewcut  finally  decreed  that  those  who  even 
discussed  established  rights  were  "rebels  against 
the  law  and  disturbers  of  the  peace. " 

Yet  Turgot 's  final  fall — as  has  only  recently 
become  clear — was  due  not  so  much  to  opposition 
to  his  reforms  as  to  his  attitude  on  the  question  of 
sending  aid  to  the  American  colonies.  He  con- 
sidered it  suicidal  to  engage  in  a  war  with  England 
when  the  Treasury  was  so  in  need  of  replenishment 
— and  the  future  was  to  justify  his  attitude.  The 
threatening  bankruptcy  that  precipitated  the  call- 
ing of  the  States-General  was  the  direct  result  of 
the  American  war. 

Loaded  down  with  debt,  all  future  ministerial 
efforts  at  reform  were  to  prove  in  vain.  Ncckcr 
was  considered  for  a  time  a  wizard  of  finance,  but 
his  panacea  for  all  ills — to  contract  new  loans — 
was  as  dangerous  to  the  national  health  as  the 
worst  kind  of  a  narcotic.  Not  until  years  after- 
wards was  it  recognized  on  what  disadvantageous 
terms  these  loans  had  been  incurred. 

The  episode  of  Calonnc's  administration  reads 
like  a  romance.     Brought  to  the  King's  notice  by 


1 8  The  French  Revolution 

intriguers  in  the  palace  who  adroitly  left  an  open 
letter  praising  his  abilities  where  Louis  was  sure 
to  find  and  read  it,  Calonne  adopted  a  policy  that 
for  a  time  raade  him  the  very  idol  of  the  court.  To 
be  rich  one  had  only  to  seem  rich.  The  good  old 
days  of  Louis  XIV  returned  once  more.  The  King 
was  encouraged  to  spend  18,000,000  francs  in  pur- 
chasing the  estate  of  Rambouillet.  The  Queen 
bought  St.  Cloud  for  6,000,000  francs,  and  her  pin- 
money  was  more  than  doubled.  Pensions  were 
once  more  showered  right  and  left.  The  debts  of 
the  King's  brothers,  amounting  to  millions  of 
francs,  were  paid  in  full.  In  a  single  year,  Louis 
XVI  drew  sight-drafts  to  the  amount  of  136,- 
000,000  francs,  of  which  20,000,000  were  made 
payable  simply  to  "bearer. " 

Not  merely  the  court  but  the  people  at  large 
were  to  be  made  to  believe  that  the  millennium  had 
come.  Public  works  were  undertaken  on  a  large 
scale:  the  docks  at  Havre,  the  harbour  at  Cher- 
bourg. Disallowed  or  superannuated  claims  were 
cheerfully  paid,  new  subsidies  given.  And  how  was 
this  accomplished?  By  clever  jugglery.  People 
were  delighted  to  find  that  old  obligations  were 
being  paid  off  by  the  Government,  but  they  were 
not  informed  when  new  ones  were  contracted. 
When  credit  runs  high,  much  is  possible — there 
Calonne  was  perfectly  right.  But  there  is  a  point 
beyond  which  inflation  cannot  go,  and  that  point 
was  finally  reached. 

It  was  reached  when  the  Parlement  refused  any 
longer  to  follow  Calonne  in  his  flights  and  register 


Introductory  19 

more  fiscal  edicts,  Parlenicuts  could  be  coerced 
by  so-called  beds  of  justice,  but  how  would  the 
money-lenders  respond  to  such  violence?  Brought 
to  bay,  Calonne  proposed  reforms  which  I^ouis  XVI 
designated  in  horror  as  "  Necker  pure  and  simple" ; 
they  included  taxation  of  the  pri\aleged  classes  and 
also  the  summoning  of  notable  men  from  all  parts 
of  France  to  serve  as  a  sort  of  advisory  council. 

Calonne's  notables  finally  came  together,  but  he 
treated  them  so  superciliously,  intimating  that 
they  were  to  have  no  voice  in  affairs  but  merely  to 
give  advice  when  asked,  that  nothing  was  gained 
by  the  measure.  Carlyle  speaks  of  a  caricature  of 
the  time'  which  represents  a  farmer  asking  his 
fowls  with  what  sauce  they  would  like  to  be 
roasted,  and  telling  them  when  they  demurred  at 
being  roasted  at  all  that  they  were  wandering 
from  the  point.  Calonne,  for  his  part,  refused  to 
give  a  plain  statement  of  the  causes  of  the  deficit 
in  the  Treasury,  merely  saying  sarcastically, 
"The  gentlemen  are  very  curious."  Calonne's 
successor,  Lomenie  de  Bricnne,  brought  matters 
to  the  breaking-point  with  the  Parlemcut,  which 
flatly  declined  to  register  the  decrees  he  required, 
and  demanded  an  Assembly  not  merely  of  men 
designated  by  the  King,  but  one  that  sIkuiM  he 
really  representative.  The  old  antagonism  ul  the 
Crown  and  the  lawyers  revived  in  full  force.  The 
most  drastic  means  were  employed  against  the 
Pdrlement;  members  were  even  banished  and  im- 
prisoned,    Louis  finally  legislated  the  whole  Parlc- 

'  I  have  not  been  able  to  procure  it. 


20  The  French  Revolution 

ment  out  of  existence  and  established  a  new  court : 
he  was  reminded  that  "there  are  laws  which  may 
not  be  violated  without  shaking  the  world's  founda- 
tions and  preparing  the  fall  of  empires."  Yet  he 
continued  on  his  course  by  Lomenie's  advice.  At 
dead  of  night  the  Palais  de  Justice  was  surrounded 
by  troops  and  the  members  still  to  be  found  there 
were  bodily  carried  off.  There  was  an  uprising  in 
southern  France  led  by  the  adherents  of  the  local 
Parlement,  and  troops  were  despatched  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Vizille,  where  the  rebels  were 
congregating. 

Louis  and  his  ministers  finally  found  that  the 
States-General,  to  be  composed  of  delegates  from 
every  part  of  France,  was  their  own  last  hope.  A 
complicated  system  of  election  was  adopted  with 
an  equally  complicated  system  of  sending  in  books 
of  plaints  and  grievances  from  each  and  every 
district.  Lomenie  was  dismissed,  and  Necker,  al- 
though he  himself  expressed  a  fear  that  it  was 
already  too  late,  was  recalled.  When  this  became 
known,  government  bonds  rose  thirty  points  in  the 
course  of  a  single  morning.  Mirabeau  declared 
that  in  summoning  the  States-General  the  na- 
tion had  progressed  a  century  in  twenty-four 
hours. 

Post  tenehras  kix^  is  the  title  of  a  broadside 
issued  at  this  juncture  and  representing  the  King 
and  Necker  emerging  from  the  clouds,  united  by  a 
double  chain.  Both  have  the  same  love  and  the 
same  care  for  the  people,  we  are  told  in  an  inscrip- 

'  Plate  3,  p.  21. 


111 


00 
00 


0) 

o 

ID 

2; 


u 

3 
O 
C 

o 


c 
o 


c 

i) 
tn 
o 
u 

a 
o 


o 

c 


s 
■Si 


-  ^'^' 


21 


22 


The  French  Revolution 


tion;  while  underneath  are  texts  and  emblems  to 
the  glory  of  the  reunited  pair. 

The  formal  summons  to  the  States-General  was 


Plate  4.     The  coach  ornamented  with  symbols  in  which  Louis  XVI  went 

to  his  coronation  in  1774. 


issued  on  January  24,  1789,  and  the  date  finally 
set  was  May  5th  of  the  same  year. 

Off  to  Versailles!  That  was  the  cry  that  now 
rang  through  France  and  the  artists  were  inspired 
by  the  theme.  The  King  had  gone  to  his  corona- 
tion in  a  coach  adorned  with  symbols' — ^France 
pointing  the  way,  suppliants  falling  at  the  King's 
feet,  Fame  heralding  the  royal  progress,  crowns, 

'  Plate  4,  above. 


Introductory 


23 


flcurs-de-lis,  the  blazing  sun  of  the  Bourbons.  It 
was  a  coach  wdth  symbols,  too,  though  of  a  different 
kind,  in  which  the  three  estates  were  now  repre- 


Platc  5.      A  symbolical  representation  of  the  three  estates  proceeding  to 

Versailles  in  May,   1 789 

sented  as  departing  for  Versailles."  The  coach  is 
drawn  by  six  owls  representing  wisdom.  The 
clergy  drives,  the  nobility  sits  at  ease  and  waves 
his  sword,  while  the  peasantry  stands  behind,  his 
spade  across  his  shoulder,  rmd  supports  the  orb 
and  the  crown. 

An  interesting  variation  of  the  theme^^ — -in  allu- 
sion possibly  to  the  fact  thai  ihv  third  estate  had 
meanwhile  been  accorded  double  representation — 

•  Plate  5,  alKjvc.  »  Plate  6,  p.  24 


24 


The  French  Revolution 


shows  the  peasantry  driving,  while  both  the  clergy 
and  the  nobility  are  in  the  body  of  the  coach. 
Each  order  has   an   animal  for   its  emblem:  the 


J>i'p(irl   (A>j    IroiJ   OiJrt'.i  pom     i  i-r.hia'/!\ 


Plate  6.      Another  version  of  the  symbolical  representation  of  the  three 
estates  proceeding  to  Versailles  in  May,  1789 

peasantry,  a  sheep;  the  nobility,  a  lion  which,  inci- 
dentally, does  all  the  supporting  of  the  orb  and 
crown;  and  the  clergy,  a  leopard. 


CHAPTER  II 


LIBERTY 


ON  Saturday.  May  2,  1789,  the  representatives 
of  the  French  people  were  received  by  the 
King  in  his  palace  of  Versailles:  the  clergy 
at  eleven,  the  nobility  at  one,  the  third  estate  at 
four  o'clock.  Two  days  later  came  the  religious 
consecration  of  the  assemblage  in  the  local  church 
of  Notre  Dame,  after  which  the  three  orders  filed 
past  the  King  and  Queen  who  returned  the  saluta- 
tion of  each  individual  member.'  Through  streets 
gay  with  flags  and  hangings  they  then  passed  in 
procession,  every  available  space  being  crowded 
with  spectators. 

The  deputies  wore  their  costumes  of  ceremony" 
symbolical  of  their  relative  pretensions.  The  robes 
of  the  clergy  were  rich  and  trailing,  calculated  only 
for  display;  the  nobles  were  in  evening  dress  with 
facings  of  cloth  of  gold.  Their  mantles  were  of 
silk,  their  broad  cravatcs  of  lace,  their  hats  adorned 
with  plumes.  The  deputies  of  the  third  were  in 
plain  black  suits,  with  cloaks  of  cloth  and  cravatcs 

'  Lc  Hodcy,  Journal  des  Etals  Cincraux. 
'Plate  7,  p.  26 

25 


26 


The  French  Revolution 


of  simple  muslin.  It  is  thus  that  the  Marquis  de 
Ferrieres  describes  them  and  thus  that  our  artist 
depicts  them.  A  separate  representation  of  a 
deputy  of  the  third  estate'  gives  us  a  chance  to 
study  his  costume  more  fully. 


,i,.,<        •-* 

1 

.11 

:     /. 

'./' 

/■ 

Plate  7.     The  three  estates  in  their  respective  costumes  of  ceremony. 

Many  were  impressed  by  the  dignified  bearing 
of  these  popular  deputies,  while  from  one  of  them, 
Mirabeau,  Madame  de  Stael,  Necker's  daughter, 
tells  us  it  was  difficult  to  turn  the  eye  away. 
Though  his  face  was  strikingly  ugly,  his  "whole 


'  Plate  8,  p.  27. 


Plate  8.     The  costume  of  a  deputy  of  llie  thinl  estate. 


27 


28  The  French  Revolution 

person  gave  the  impression  of  an  unrestrained 
power,  but  of  such  power  as  one  associates  with  a 
tribune  of  the  people. '" 

Ferrieres  describes  himself^  as  plunged  in  the 
sweetest  ecstasy  at  the  sight  of  the  procession. 
He  seemed,  he  says,  to  hear  France  calling:  "Lay 
aside  your  childish  quarrels,  for  the  moment  has 
come  which  will  give  me  new  life  or  annihilate  me 
forever. ' '  Yet,  far  from  being  laid  aside,  these  same 
childish  quarrels  had  by  May  6th  brought  matters 
to  a  complete  deadlock. 

The  fatal  mistake  had  been  made  by  the  King's 
ministers  of  having  no  definite  programme  to  pre- 
sent for  the  consideration  of  the  States- General. 
The  deficit?  Necker  spoke  of  that  as  a  mere  trifle 
— 'Something  that  could  very  easily  be  remedied. 
But  if  so,  why  then  these  elaborate  preparations? 
Why  this  urgent  appeal  to  the  people? 

The  deputies  began  to  wrangle  over  matters  that 
should  have  been  settled  long  beforehand — -whether 
they  should  verify  their  powers  in  common  or 
separately:  whether  they  should  vote  as  orders  or 
as  individuals.  The  nobles  and  clergy  finally  re- 
fused flatly  to  have  their  credentials  passed  upon 
in  presence  of  the  third  estate  and  withdrew  from 
the  common  meeting-hall  to  separate  apartments 
in  the  same  building.  It  was  an  unwise  move 
from  every  point  of  view.  Sitting  there  in  their 
great  hall  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of  spectators,  the 
third  estate  represented  the  nation  far  more  than 
did  the  other  two  assemblies. 

'  Considerations,  i.,  i86.  *  Memoires,  i.,  19-20. 


Liberty  29 

Week  after  week  passed  and  the  deadlock  con- 
tinued unbroken.  The  whole  machinery,  not  only 
of  reform,  but  even  of  government,  had  been  thrown 
out  of  gear.  In  the  country  at  large,  all  the  evils  of 
anarchy  broke  loose.  Trade  was  at  a  standstill; 
money  was  hoarded ;  labour  could  find  no  employ- 
ment. Organized  bands  of  thieves  began  to  scour 
the  country.  A  great  panic  fell  upon  the  peasants. 
From  ever>n;\'here  came  tales  of  brigands,  the  actual 
evdls  being  exaggerated  tenfold.  Arthur  Young, 
the  Englisli  traveller,  found  the  peasants  of  one 
district  in  a  dreadful  fright  because  they  had  heard 
that  the  Queen  meant  to  blow  them  all  up  with 
gunpowder.  And  the  States-General,  the  assem- 
bling of  which  had  been  welcomed  as  a  panacea  for 
all  evils,  was  accomplishing  literally  nothing.  In 
strife  with  each  other,  the  people's  deputies  were 
not  lifting  a  finger  to  alleviate  the  general  misery. 

The  third  estate  held  firm.  The  clergy  tried 
to  throw  upon  them  the  odium  of  the  schism  and 
of  the  sufferings  of  the  peasants,  and  made  bitter 
recriminations.  Once  a  clerical  emissary  appeared 
in  the  hall  and  flourished  a  piece  of  the  loathsome 
black  bread  that  the  poor  were  condemned  to  eat. 
The  clergy  and  nobles,  it  was  declared,  were  all 
eagerness  to  take  in  hand  the  work  of  relief,  but  the 
people's  deputies  stood  in  the  way.  If  the  clergy 
are  so  troubled  about  the  poor,  was  the  response, 
why  do  they  not  join  the  third  estate,  or  why  do 
they  not  furnish  relief  from  their  own  vast  surplus 
of  wealth? 

This  idea  that  the  people's  representatives  were 


30 


The  French  Revolution 


turning  the  needy  away  from  the  sanctuary  of  the 
law  was  exploited,  doubtless  in  the  interests  of  the 
clergy,  by  means  of  an  engraving  entitled  "Ah, 
how  hard  are  the  times!"'  An  agonized  mother 
with  four  children  has  appealed  in  vain  for  aid  but 


y.     \\\\o^'^:  iiV.^  Ti  ~^^ 


■^  I  •■!> 


Plate  9.      A  symbolical  representation   entitled  "Ah,  how  hard 

are  the  times!" 

is  sternly  being  repulsed  by  the  Genius  of  France 
himself. 

The  last  attempt  at  conciliation  was  made  on 
June  9,    1789.     On  the  loth,  Mirabeau  declared 

'  Plate  9,  above. 


.TOfCHIiiJ  LAM*  L  CURE  S  riW'AlS  WKN  gu'vOUS  SERIALS  DR^NO  IRKS 

W  -  — — 

Plate   10.       A  cartoon  showinR  the  thin!  t-statc    wt-Uoniin^j  tlie  clergy 
to  the  ranks  of  the  National  Assembly,  June  13,  I7**9- 


3« 


32  The  French  Revolution 

that  some  decision  must  be  made,  and  Sieyes 
moved  to  proceed  to  a  roll-call  and  begin  to  verify 
powers  no  matter  who  might  fail  to  appear.  "The 
time  has  come,"  he  declared,  "to  cut  the  cable!" 

"Seneschalry  of  Aix,  gentlemen  of  the  clergy? 
No  one  present.  Gentlemen  of  the  nobility?  No 
one  present. "  So  the  roll-calling  began,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  third  alone  stepping  forward  as  the 
names  of  their  districts  were  called.  On  the  13th 
of  June  when  "Seneschalry  of  Poitou,  gentlemen 
of  the  clergy?"  had  been  reached,  there  suddenly 
was  a  profound  sensation.  Three  ecclesiastics 
stepped  forward  and  offered  to  produce  their  cred- 
entials. First  there  was  a  stir  and  a  bustle,  and 
then  the  hall  resounded  with  applause.  The  next 
day,  six  more  of  the  clergy  responded  when  their 
districts  were  called,  and  it  was  made  known  that  a 
majority  of  the  order  were  in  favour  of  joining  the 
third  estate. 

It  is  this  moment  that  one  of  our  cartoonists 
chose  for  his  theme.'  He  shows  the  peasant  leav- 
ing his  plough,  doffing  his  hat,  and  going  forward  to 
greet  the  curate:  "Shake  hands,  Mr.  Curate,  I 
knew  that  you  were  going  to  join  our  side!" 

Fiery  debates  began  on  June  15th  concerning 
the  name  that  should  be  given  to  the  new  Assembly. 
Should  it  be  called,  as  Mirabeau  wished,  "Repre- 
sentatives of  the  French  nation,"  or,  as  a  deputy 
from  Berry  proposed,  simply  "The  National  As- 
sembly ' '  ?  On  June  1 7th,  the  latter  designation  was 
formally  adopted  and  at  the  same  time  it  was  voted 

'  Plate  10,  p.  31. 


Liberty  33 

to  proceed  to  the  work  of  national  regeneration 
stopping  at  no  obstacle  or  interruption.  The  die 
had  been  cast  and  there  were  to  be  no  half  meas- 
ures. The  Assembly  boldly  seized  the  reins  of 
government  and  exercised  a  formal  act  of  sover- 
eignty. It  declared  that  all  the  existing  taxes  had 
been  illegally  imposed.  It  did  not  suddcnl}'  abro- 
gate them,  however,  but  ordered  that  they  be  col- 
lected, exactly  as  before,  so  long  as  the  Assembly 
should  remain  in  session — a  clever  move,  for  should 
the  King  dissolve  the  Assembly  it  could  be  claimed 
that  the  taxes  were  not  legal,  and  many,  of  course, 
would  have  rejoiced  to  escape  payment.  The 
general  feeling  towards  Louis  was  that  at  heart  he 
was  the  people's  friend,  but  that,  like  Luther's  pope, 
he  was  badly  advised.  There  were  still  hearty 
Vive  le  rot's  when  his  name  was  mentioned.  He  had 
summoned  the  States-General ;  he  would  eventually 
himself  head  the  Liberal  movement.  But  the 
National  Assembly  meanwhile  felt  its  own  dignity 
and  importance.  The  members  agreed  to  bind 
themselves  by  a  solemn  oath.  In  the  midst  of 
a  crowd  of  excited  spectators,  all  rose  and  stood 
with  raised  right  hand  while  President  Bailly 
pronounced  the  formula:  "We  swear  and  promise 
to  fulfil  with  zeal  and  fidelity  the  functions  we 
have  assumed."  "We  swear  and  promise,"  was 
repeated  by  all. 

It  was  realized  that  the  task  of  regeneration 
might  take  long  and  the  National  Assembly  pro- 
ceeded to  make  itself  as  much  at  home  as  possible. 
The  ventilation  of  the  hall  was  bad,  the  scats  were 


34  The  French  Revolution 

uncomfortable;  but  there  was  a  man  with  consid- 
erable mechanical  ingenuity  among  the  members, 
and  he  was  entrusted  with  the  task  of  finding  a 
remedy. '  His  name  was  Dr.  Guillotin  and  he  was 
presently  to  invent  one  kind  of  a  remedy  at  least  for 
all  the  ills  to  which  flesh  is  heir.  "With  my  ma- 
chine I  chop  off  your  head  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye 
and  you  don't  even  notice  it,"  he  explained  when 
exhibiting  his  invention  in  one  of  the  sessions,  which 
remark  caused  such  inextinguishable  laughter 
that  the  Assembly  had  to  adjourn. 

President  Bailly,  in  his  famous  memoirs,  com- 
plains bitterly  that  from  the  first  the  members  of 
the  National  Assembly,  according  as  their  individ- 
ual votes  were  pleasing  or  not  to  the  spectators, 
were  subject  to  praises  or  insults.  He  sees  in  this 
calling  in  of  the  people  the  source  of  the  worst 
evils  of  the  Revolution.  The  judgment  of  a  mob 
at  a  time  of  crisis  is  about  as  reliable  as  that  of  a 
drove  of  horses  that  has  been  stampeded;  and 
decisions  had  far  better  be  left  to  those  who  at 
calmer  moments  have  been  chosen  as  legislators 
because  of  their  sound  views  and  their  thorough 
training.  In  the  case  of  the  National  Assembly, 
there  was  an  organized  system  of  intimidation. 
Lists  of  deputies  who  were  supposed  to  be  not 
voting  as  they  should  were  distributed  among  the 
masses,  and  Bailly  tells  of  members  who  came  to 
him  in  great  alarm  because  they  had  heard  that 
their  names  had  been  placed  on  such  a  list. 

It  was  June  17th,  as  we  have  said,  when  the  first 

'  Debats  et  Decrets,  June  17. 


Liberty  35 

revolutionary  measures  were  passed.  For  the  next 
three  days  the  court  party  remained  abashed  and 
disconcerted,  the  nobles  railing  at  the  third  estate 
and  accusing  it  of  a  desire  to  usurp  the  whole 
power.  Then  the  King  acted — most  unwisely,  as 
it  was  to  prove. 

It  was  apparently  to  frustrate  the  joining  of  the 
National  Assembly  by  a  considerable  number  of 
the  clergy  who,  on  June  19th,  had  made  their 
decision  to  that  effect,  that  Louis  XVI,  on  the 
twentieth,  ordered  the  doors  of  the  Assembly-hall 
to  be  shut  and  no  members  to  be  admitted.  The 
pretext  was  that  his  Majesty  had  determined  to 
hold  a  royal  session  of  all  three  orders  combined 
and  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  carpenters  make 
certain  changes  in  the  hall.  Seeing  that  the  three 
orders  had  met  together  in  that  very  hall  on  the 
fifth  day  of  the  preceding  month,  the  reasons 
advanced  could  not  have  seemed  very  cogent. 

The  King's  treatment  of  the  National  Assembly 
was  unceremonious  to  say  the  least.  The  Presi- 
dent, Bailly,  was  officially  informed  of  the  closing  of 
the  hall  only  an  hour  or  so  before  the  regular 
session  was  to  have  begun.  The  first  intimation  to 
the  members  themselves  was  the  finding  of  llie 
entrance  barred  by  troops.  There  were  bitter 
recriminations  on  the  one  hand,  threats  of  violence 
on  the  other.  "Strike,  it  will  bring  revolution  all 
the  sooner!"  cried  a  deputy  when  a  bayonet  was 
pressed  against  his  breast. ' 

It  was  Dr.  Guillotin,  rdways  quick  and  inventive, 

'  Dfbats  el  Decrets;  Brcltc,  Sernu-nt  du  Jru  dr  J'.tume. 


36  The  French  Revolution 

who  made  the  suggestion  of  adjourning  to  a  build- 
ing not  controlled  altogether  by  the  court,  although 
its  chief  patron  was  the  Comte  d'Artois  and  its 
owner  enjoyed  the  title  of  purveyor  to  the  royal 
family.  Over  the  door  blazed  the  sun  of  Louis 
XIV,  and  on  the  blue  ceiling  were  golden  fleurs-de- 
lis.  In  all  other  respects,  the  Tennis  Court  was  a 
thing  of  utility  rather  than  of  beauty.  The  walls 
were  painted  black  in  order  that  the  white  balls 
might  be  more  visible,  and  a  net,  waist  high,  divided 
the  hall  in  halves.'  The  proprietor  of  the  estab- 
lishment received  the  deputies  with  every  token 
of  joy  but  could  do  little  to  make  them  comfortable. 
A  few  benches  and  a  writing-table  were  the  extent 
of  the  furniture. 

Only  an  hour  and  a  half  had  been  lost  by  the 
unexpected  change  of  locality.  The  deputies  had 
gained  enormously  in  popularity  because  of  their 
firm  attitude,  and  a  crowd  of  people  surrounded 
the  door  and  stretched  far  back  into  the  streets. 
Excitement  was  at  the  highest  pitch.  Sieyes 
would  have  liked  to  have  the  Assembly  cut  loose 
from  the  King  and  move  in  a  body  to  Paris  ^;  but 
Mounier  intervened  with  the  proposition  then 
and  there  to  take  an  oath  "never  to  separate,  but 
always  to  reassemble,  when  circumstances  required, 
until  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom  should  be 
established  on  solid  and  firm  foundations."  To 
this  oath,  each  member  subscribed  in  writing, 
though  one  member  quickly  wrote   "opposing" 

'  Aulard,  Eludes  et  Leqons,  \.,  62. 

*  Mallet  du  Pan,  Memoires,  i.,  165,  note. 


|4 


Plate  II.     MiralH-au  in  the  namu  of  the  National    Assembly  ilcfying  Uc 
Br6xt',  Master  of  CL-renjonics  of  the  King. 


37 


38  The  French  Revolution 

after  having  affixed  his  signature/  That  he  left 
the  hall  alive  seems  to  have  been  due  only  to 
Bailly's  interference.  Yet  the  Assembly  decided 
not  to  erase  his  name. 

The  King,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  announced 
his  intention  to  hold  a  royal  session.  This  the 
National  Assembly  voted  to  attend,  but  it  also 
voted  to  remain  in  the  hall  after  the  session  should 
be  over  and  transact  its  own  business.  It  had 
meanwhile  been  joined  by  the  majority  of  the 
clergy — not  in  the  Tennis  Court,  for  the  Comte 
d'Artois  had  sent  word  to  the  proprietor  that  he 
wished  to  play  a  game  of  tennis — but  in  the  church 
of  St.  Louis.  The  royal  session  was  held  on  the 
23d  of  June.  Never  again  was  a  king  of  France 
to  appear  with  such  pomp  and  circumstance. 
Through  the  crowded  streets,  Louis  XVI's  carriage 
advanced  in  the  midst  of  the  falconry,  the  pages, 
the  squires,  the  regiments  of  body-guards.  Arrived 
at  the  hall,  the  King,  followed  by  the  princes  of  the 
blood,  the  dukes  and  peers  of  France,  the  captains 
of  the  guards,  the  king-at-arms,  and  the  heralds, 
advanced  to  the  platform  and  seated  himself  on  the 
throne  that  had  once  done  service  for  Louis  XIV". 

The  nobles  and  what  remained  of  the  clergy  had 
been  allowed  to  enter  from  the  Avenue  de  Paris, 
and  to  take  their  seats  without  delay.  Was  it 
accident,  was  it  negligence,  now,  that  the  National 
Assembly  was  kept  waiting  for  an  hour  at  the  back 
entrance  where  only  a  portion  of  the  members 

'  The  modern  restorers  of  the  Tennis  Court  have  foolishly  stricken 
Martin  Dauch's  name  from  the  list  of  signers.      (Jaures,  i.,  246.) 


Liberty  39 

could  find  shelter  from  the  rain?  De  Breze,  the 
King's  master  of  ceremonies,  declared  that  the 
delay  was  due  to  the  sudden  death  of  one  of  the 
royal  secretaries,  but  Bailly  maintained  that  these 
"vain  puerilities"  had  been  resorted  to  in  order  to 
prevent  any  attempt  to  take  the  seats  reserved 
for  the  clergy  and  nobility. 

Louis  X\7's  opening  speech  was  a  defiance 
which  he  proceeded  to  soften  by  the  offer  of  great 
concessions.  "The  King  wills,"  it  began,  "that 
the  ancient  distinction  of  the  three  orders  in  the 
state  be  preserved  in  its  entirety  as  a  fundamental 
part  of  the  constitution  of  his  kingdom."  The 
measures  passed  by  the  Assembly  on  June  17  th 
were  simply  annulled,  and  the  King  "willed  to 
make  it  known"  in  what  manner  future  delib- 
erations should  be  held.  We  know  now  that  all 
this  was  contrary  to  the  advice  of  Necker  but 
that  the  counsels  of  Marie  Antoinette  and  the 
Comte  d'Artois  had  prevailed.  Necker  had  then 
remained  away  from  the  session. 

The  concessions  offered  were  indeed  considerable 
and  would  have  been  hailed  with  enthusiasm  had 
they  been  presented  as  a  programme  on  the  5th  of 
May.  Reform  in  taxation,  a  yearly  budget,  event- 
ual suppression  of  the  Icttrcs  dc  cachet,  partial 
hberty  of  the  press — all  this  formed  a  tempting 
bait.  The  King  grew  pathetic  over  his  intended 
generosity:  "If  by  an  unanticipated  fatality  you 
abandon  me  in  so  fine  an  enterprise  alone  I  shall 
accomplish  the  good  of  my  people;  alone  I  sliall 
consider    myself    their    veritable    representative." 


40  The  French  Revolution 

He  ended  by  ordering  the  members  to  disperse  and 
to  resume  their  sessions  as  separate  bodies  on  the 
following  day.  The  court  filed  out,  as  did  also  the 
nobility  and  the  loyal  remnant  of  the  clergy.  The 
National  Assembly  did  not  move. 

If  defiance  was  in  order,  the  National  Assembly 
could  be  defiant.  Mirabeau's  answer  to  Master  of 
Ceremonies  De  Breze,  when  he  approached  and 
avsked  if  the  King's  intentions  had  been  understood, 
was  one  of  those  shots  fired  round  the  world: 

Yes,  Sir,  we  have  heard  the  intentions  imputed  to  the 
King.  But  you  who  are  not  his  proper  representative  in 
the  States-General,  you  who  are  out  of  place  here  and  have 
no  authority  to  speak,  you  are  not  the  one  to  remind  us  of 
his  discourse.  Yet,  to  avoid  all  ambiguity  and  all  delay,  I 
will  say  to  you :  if  you  have  been  commissioned  to  make  us 
leave  here,  you  had  better  procure  orders  to  use  force;  for 
nothing  short  of  bayonets  will  make  us  quit  our  places!' 

There  was  a  cry  of  * '  That  is  the  will  of  the 
Assembly ! ' '  and  De  Breze  was  so  astonished  at  the 
storm  he  had  conjured  up  that  he  retired  backing 
out,  we  are  told,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  do  from 
the  presence  of  royalty. 

An  engraving  of  the  time^  shows  Mirabeau 
addressing  De  Breze.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
know  whether  the  symbolical  representations  of 
liberty  and  law  could  possibly  have  been  included 
among  the  decorations  that  Louis  XVI  had  sanc- 
tioned for  the  hall  of  the  States-General.  More 
likely  the  liberation  of  captives  and  the  breaking 

»  This  is  the  version  given  by  the  Debats  et  Decrets  which  is,  on  the 
whole,  the  most  reliable  of  the  newspapers. 
^  Plate  II,  p.  2)7 ■ 


Liberty 


41 


of  chains  were  a  fanciful  addition  of  the  artist 
first  inspired  by  the  fall  of  the  Bastile. 

The  King's  command  to  disperse  had  been  flatly 
and  openly  disobeyed.     The  National  Assembly 


Plate  12.     A  cartoon  showing  the  third  estate  welcoming  the  other  two 
estates  to  the  ranks  of  the  Natioruil  Assembly,  June  30,  1789 

seized  that  very  occasion  to  reaffirm  emphatically 
its  previous  decrees.  And  what  action  was  taken 
by  Louis  XVI  ?  N<  )ne.  I  Ic  very  characteristically 
remarked  to  De  Breze:  "If  the  gentlemen  of  [he 
third  estate  do  not  wish  to  leave  the  hall,  there  is 
nothing  to  do  but  to  allow  them  to  remain  there. " 
Indirectly,  indeed,  there  was  some  action  taken. 


42 


The  French  Revolution 


Thirty  carpenters  were  despatched   to  the  hall. 
"It  was  hoped,"  wrote  Ferrieres,  "that  the  noise 


-_^^*f^ 


"    'm^^^ 


^-^  Y  ^Mh 

=^^    ^-.r?^.  ^,>^^^ 


^^^^^^^^^^^r^^ 


^-~s^^< 


^^^^^5"=;^;=^^ 


L 


AORLEANS 


fiJUonnoiiiaxidci  7)accQ\ 


CHEZ-LETOUKMI ' 


Plate  13.     A  cartoon  showing  the  three  estates  as  musicians 
at  last  playing  in  tune. 

of  such  a  house-moving  would  force  the  gentlemen 
of  the  third  to  end  their  session  and  go  away.  The 
gentlemen  of  the  third  remained  impassive  and 


Liberty 


43 


continued  their  deliberations."  They  crowned 
their  work  by  declaring  the  person  of  each  and 
every  national  deputy  inviolable. 

Louis  XVl  had  renounced  further  conflict.     He 


WH  I  'Ml     N 


VV»-  f»  »  ' 


Plate  14.     A  cartoon  showing  concord  holding  the  three  estates  united  by 

flowery  chains. 

wrote  and  requested  his  faithful  clergy  and  nobility 
to  unite  with  the  third  estate  antl  hasten  the 
accomplishment  of  his  paternal  views.  This  both 
orders  finally  voted  to  do,  taking  their  seats  on  the 
30th  of  June. 

It  was  a  busy  time  for  symbolists!     We  have 
first  a  production'  in  which  the  peasant  welcomes 

•  Pbtc  12,  [).  41 


44 


The  French  Revolution 


the  other  two  orders,  using  the  same  terms  with 
which  he  had  previously  welcomed  the  advance- 
guard  of  the  clergy:  ''Shake,  gentlemen,  I  knew 
very  well  that  you  would  join  our  side!"  Then 
again,'  under  what  may  be  meant  for  a  tree  of 


Plate  15.     A  cartoon  showing  the  three  estates  shouldering  in  common 
the  burden  of  the  national  debt. 


liberty,  we  have  the  three  estates,  easily  recognized 
by  their  respective  costumes,  playing  each  on  a 
different  instrument,  while  beneath  are  the  words, 
' '  Good,  now  we  are  in  tune ! "  Or  still  again,-  Con- 
cord, clasping  a  bundle  of  fagots,  holds  the  estates 
by  flowery  chains,  while  to  her  right  are  the  medal- 
lions of  three  good  kings,  to  her  left  those  of  three 
good  ministers. 

In  one  representation^  the  three  orders  in  com- 

'  Plate  13,  p.  42  ^  Plate  14,  p.  43  ^  Plate  15,  see  above. 


Liberty 


45 


mon  have  shouldered  the  immense  burden  of  the 
national  debt  and  are  sharing  the  land-tax  in 
common.  They  do  not  look  happy,  but  each,  at 
any  rate,  is  bravely  doing  his  duty. 

Much  more  elaborate  is  "The  Triumph  of  the 
three  Orders. " '     On  a  huge  car,  drawn  by  prancing 


Plate  i6.     A  cartoon  entitled  "The  Triumph  of  the  Three 

Orders,"  showing  France  and  her  three  sons,  the 

clerg>',  nobility,  and  third  estate,  on  their 

way  to  the  Temple  of  Justice. 

steeds,  France  and  her  three  sons  are  borne  towards 
the  Temple  of  Justice  where  Father  Time  awaits 
them,  holding  open  the  book  of  history  at  the  page 
entitled  "Age  of  Louis  XVI."  Headlong  into  the 
abyss  are  plunging  horrible  envy  and  the  furies; 
while  behind  the  car,  with  dignified  tread,  are 
marching  Hope,  Peace,  Justice,  and  Commerce. 
One  knows  them  by  their  attributes:  Hope  has  the 
anchor;  Peace,  the  extinguished  torch;  Justice,  the 

■  Plate  1 6,  see  above. 


^^9SHBHi^B^3 


/3\E'JXiS*0US-FAlTS' , 


Plate  17.     Facsimile  of  medals  commemorating  the  harmony  of  the  three 

estates  in  the  summer  of  1789 


46 


Liberty 


47 


sword;  and  Commerce,   the  bundle  of  hemp  and 
various  implements. 

Not  alone  in  broadsides  and  loose-sheet  en^^rav- 
ings,  but  also  on  coins  and  medals'  do  we  see  this 


AC  /w/.  ^  X.'  ■       .  _ 

Plate  1 8.     A  cartoon  representing  the  third  estate  awakening  from  his  long 
slumber,  casting  off  his  chains  and  terrifying  the  other  two  estates. 

new  harmony  of  the  estates  celebrated  witli  in>;en- 
ious  allegories  and  patriotic  utterances.  It  all 
shows  with  what  breathless  interest  these  first 
experiments  in  government  by  representatives  were 
followed  by  the  country  at  large. 

A  new  series  of  events  gave  a  fresh  direction  to 

»  Plate  17,  p.  46. 


48  The  French  Revolution 

artistic  endeavour.     But  first  we  must  trace  briefly 
the  rapid  decHne  of  the  royal  power. 

Louis  XVI  could  neither  lead  nor  follow;  he 
blew  neither  hot  nor  cold;  his  acts  and  his  words 
did  not  agree.  On  June  30th,  eleven  of  his  guards 
who  had  sworn  to  disregard  any  orders  that  might 
seem  to  be  directed  against  the  National  Assembly 
were  incarcerated;  they  were  released  by  the  mob 
and  Louis  XVI  pardoned  them.  A  few  days  later, 
there  was  general  panic  and  dismay  at  the  news 
that  royal  troops  were  converging  on  Paris  and 
Versailles.  Mirabeau,  in  the  Assembly,  drew  a 
lurid  picture  of  the  situation  and  of  the  thousands 
of  soldiers  who  had  arrived,  were  arriving,  or  were 
about  to  arrive:  "It  is  thus  that  revolutions 
begin,"  he  cried;  "thus  that  excesses  are  com- 
mitted; thus  that  blood  is  shed!"  The  Assembly 
sent  fiery  petitions  to  the  King: 

Sire,  we  conjure  you  in  the  name  of  the  fatherland,  in 
the  name  of  your  happiness  and  of  your  glory,  send  back 
your  soldiers  to  the  posts  whence  your  councillors  have 
drawn  them.  .  .  .  Your  Majesty  does  not  need  them. 
Ah,  why  should  a  monarch  adored  by  twenty-hve  million 
Frenchmen  summon  several  thousand  foreigners  around  the 
throne  at  great  expense? 

Louis's  reply  only  increased  the  consternation. 
The  troops  were  there  to  maintain  order,  he  de- 
clared; and  he  suggested  that  if  their  presence 
gave  umbrage  to  the  National  Assembly,  the  latter 
should  move  to  Noyon  or  Soissons!  On  July  nth, 
the  King  dismissed  his  ministry.     Yet  Necker  had 


Liberty  49 

seemed  to  the  people  the  only  man  li\'ing  who  could 
avert  bankruptcy.  The  worst  horrors  were  immi- 
nent: blood  was  about  to  flow,  eternal  shame  to 
fall  upon  France.  The  Assembly  voted  that  Necker 
carried  with  him  its  esteem  and  its  regret,  and 
continued  to  insist  on  the  removal  of  the  troops. 

Through  the  streets  of  Paris,  Necker's  bust  was 
carried  veiled  in  crepe;  the  foreign  troops  were 
stoned  and  reviled;  the  theatres  were  forcibly 
closed;  the  toll-bars  of  the  city  burned.  A  revolu- 
tionary body  established  itself  in  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  and  Dr.  Guillotin,  that  useful  man,  was 
commissioned  to  make  this  latter  measure  of  safety 
acceptable  to  the  National  Assembly.  The  pro- 
tection of  Paris  was  handed  over  to  a  citizen 
guard. 

On  July  14th,  after  barricades  had  been  erected, 
paving-stones  torn  up,  muskets  seized,  and  an 
entry  forced  into  the  Hotel  dc  Ville,  attention  was 
turned  to  the  Bastile.  Here  was  a  symbol  of 
tyranny  that  threw  all  others  into  the  shade.  Into 
those  dark  dungeons  any  one  could  be  thrown  on 
the  mere  signing  of  a  slip  of  paper  by  the  King. 

The  Bastile  might  have  resisted  a  sudden  storm 
but  was  not  provisioned  for  a  siege.  The  old 
governor,  De  Launay,  surrendered  even  before  the 
cannon  that  the  mob  brought  with  them  had  been 
fired.  It  was  a  day  of  misunderstandings.  Ditl 
De  Launay  purposely  lower  the  drawbridge  to  lure 
the  people  into  the  courtyard  and  there  shoot  them 
down?  Had  the  garrison  made  signs  to  the  people 
to  approach,  or  had  these  signs  been  for  the  pur])()sc 


50  The  French  Revolution 

of  warding  them  off?  Had  flags  of  truce  been 
used  as  decoys?  One  will  answer  these  questions, 
even  to-day,  according  to  one's  sympathies,  and  it 
can  easily  be  imagined  what  fierce  protestations 
and  denials  there  were  at  the  time. 

The  bald  facts  can  be  briefly  stated.  The 
besiegers,  joined  by  a  detachment  of  the  King's 
former  guards,  dragged  cannon  through  the  court- 
yards while  the  garrison  fired  shots  and  missiles  at 
them  from  above,  killing  some  eighty- three  persons 
and  wounding  as  many  more.  There  are  curious 
discrepancies  as  to  the  intensity  of  the  struggle. 
"World-bedlam  roaring";  "noise  as  of  the  crack 
of  doom,"  are  expressions  used  by  Carlyle  in  this 
connection.  Yet  one  eye-witness,  Pasquier,  de- 
clares "the  so-called  fighting  was  not  serious;  the 
resistance  was  absolutely  nil";  while  a  reputable 
modern  authority.  The  Cambridge  History,  speaks  of 
the  whole  affair  as  "  a  petty  incident  that  holds  an 
altogether  disproportionate  place  in  the  imagination 
of  mankind." 

That  the  storming  of  the  Bastile  did  hold  this 
place  in  the  popular  imagination  is,  however, 
undisputed,  and  that  is  what  particularly  interests 
us  here.  It  mattered  little  that  only  seven  prison- 
ers were  found — ^not  in  dungeons  but  in  well- 
lighted  cells;  that  of  these  seven  all  were  there 
for  just  cause.  These  seven  prisoners,  all  the  same, 
were  borne  along  in  a  great  procession  while  every 
sort  of  an  emblem  of  tyranny  was  flourished  as  a 
product  of  the  dark  depths:  bits  of  armour,  keys, 
handcuffs,  chains,  old  bones,  caps  of  liberty,  and 


Liberty 


51 


crowns  of  laurel.  In  the  country  at  large,  too,  and 
even  in  other  countries,  the  fall  of  the  Bastile 
created  an  immense  sensation.  It  was  as  though  a 
second  David  had  slain  his  Goliath.     Wc  onlv  need 


IctL-  /i'lj    it  .  /./    iiLftu;-     <•.■/    ,/ii    11  •"/<-'    .//    / 


•/" 


/ 


Plate  19.     k  cartoon  entitled  "This  time  Justice  is  the  strongest,"  and 
representing  Justice  and  the  third  estate  weighing  down  the 
clergy   and  nobility. 

to  look  at  the  cartoons  of  the  period  to  find  proofs 
of  the  excitement. 

"Faith  it  was  time  for  me  to  wake  up,  for  the 
weight  of  my  chains  gave  me  a  little  too  bad  a 
nightmare"  is  the  text  under  a  broadside"  entitled 
"The  awakening  of  the  third  estate."  The  third 
with  fierce  determination  in  his  countenance,  has 
broken  the  great  iron  ring  to  which  his  chains  were 

•  Plate  18,  p.  47. 


52 


The  French  Revolution 


attached  and  is  stretching  out  his  hand  to  seize 
his  weapons,  at  which  sight  the  clergy  and  nobility 
start  back  in  horror.  In  the  background,  the  Bas- 
tile  is  being  demolished,  while  the  two  heads  borne 


LE     NOBLt    PAS     l)t-    DhA'X 


ii//i^/i~i-    !.r/i.r  c/r//?>,ice  r<  i/c'  /v/i/'t     i-i^/n/i/r  .•■(',>•._      '  ■   .     '.)  an-r  yiiu/.i   i'/  I'/i-i--  /a  /-//■<v/fJ. 

Plate  20.     A  cartoon  entitled  "  The  noble  Two-step,"  in  which  a  noble 
and  an  abbe  are  dancing  to  the  piping  of  the  third  estate. 

on  stakes  are  those  of  the  governor,  De  Launay — 
who  had  been  jeered  at,  pelted  with  filth,  pricked 
with  sword  and  spear,  stabbed,  finally,  and  his 
head  severed  by  a  cook  with  a  penknife — and  of 
the  provost  of  the  merchants,  Flesselles,  whose 
great  crime  had  been  that,  when  ordered  by 
the  sovereign  people  to  furnish  arms,  he  had  sent 
up  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville  some  boxes  which  had 
then  been  found  to  contain  nothing  but  old  linen. 


Liberty 


53 


"This  time  Justice  is  on  the  side  of  the  strongest " 
is  the  heading  of  another  representation,'  where 
Justice  stands  with  the  third  estate  on  one  end  of 
the    see-saw    and    weighs    down    the    clergy    and 


Plate  21.     A  cartoon  entitled  "  Despotism  overthrown,"  and  likening  the 
storming  of  the  Bastile  to  the  slaying  of  a  hydra. 

nobiUty;  while  in  "The  noble  Two-step.'"  we 
have  a  nobleman  and  an  ahhc  dancing  to  the  piping 
of  a  naticmal  guard. 

Occasionally  we  find  productions  that  arc  ex- 
tremely elaborate,  like  the  one  entitled  "Despotism 
overthrown."^  Here  a  band  of  determined  pike- 
and  swords-men,  who  have  a  cannon  in  reserve  if  it 

•  Plate  19,  p.  510  '  Plate  20,  p.  520  1  Plate  21,  sec- alxjvc. 


54  The  French  Revolution 

shall  be  needed,  are  attacking  a  frightful  many- 
headed  monster  whose  great  claw  is  outstretched 
to  rend  them  in  pieces.  A  number  of  heads  have 
already  been  severed  and  lie  on  the  ground.  They 
are  those  doubtless  of  De  Launay  and  Flesselles  and 
Foulon  and  Berthier,  of  whom  we  shall  speak 
presently.  One  head  on  a  pole  is  being  carried 
about.  We  have  a  banner  waving  from  the  parapet 
of  the  conquered  Bastile,  while  in  the  corner  sits 
a  weeping  figure  intended  to  represent  royalty,  for 
on  the  head  is  a  crown,  while  the  hand  rests  on  a 
shield  covered  with  fleurs-de-lis.  The  text  tells 
us  at  considerable  length  that 

On  July  12,  1789,  towards  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  a 
wild  beast  in  the  form  of  a  horrible  monster  was  seen  on 
the  road  from  Versailles  to  Paris.  Connoisseurs  assured  us 
that  it  was  preparing  to  enter  and  ravage  the  capital.  At 
once  there  were  cries  of  "To  arms!  to  arms!"  With  guns 
and  halberds  all  the  citizens  ran  out  and  vainly  sought  the 
devastating  monster.  On  the  fourteenth,  at  last,  it  was 
learned  that  he  had  retired  to  a  den  called  the  Bastile  near 
the  Porte  St.  Antoine.  There  was  a  rush  to  besiege  it  in 
that  place  and,  having  forced  it  from  this  last  entrenchment, 
it  was  a  question  of  who  should  cut  off  the  greatest  number 
of  heads.  For  the  monster  had  several  and,  as  was  the 
case  with  the  hydra,  all  had  to  be  cut  off  to  keep  them  from 
growing  again. 

The  deliberations  in  the  National  Assembly  on 
the  day  after  the  storming  of  the  Bastile  took  on  a 
tone  that  had  as  yet  been  lacking — one  full  of  bitter- 
ness against  the  court.  Mirabeau  maintained  that 
the  princes  and  princesses  had  visited  the  "foreign 


Liberty  55 

hordes"  whom  the  King  had  called  in;  that  they 
had  caressed,  exhorted,  and  rewarded  them;  that 
"these  foreign  satellites  gorged  with  gold  and  wine 
had  foretold  in  their  impious  songs  the  enslave- 
ment of  France";  that  this  barbarous  music  had 
served  as  an  accompaniment  to  the  dancing  of  the 
courtiers,  and  that  "such  was  the  prologue  of 
St.    Bartholomew!" 

There  was  a  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  Assem- 
bly when,  as  mid-day  was  approaching,  the  King 
suddenly  appeared  in  their  hall.  In  a  short  speech 
he  announced  that  he  had  given  orders  to  the  troops 
to  withdraw  and  that  the  Assembly  was  authorized 
to  make  known  the  news  in  Paris.  It  was  a  sur- 
render at  discretion.  Louis's  discourse  made  a 
touching  impression  on  the  Assembly  and,  as  it 
ended,  "transports  and  tenderness  reached  their 
climax" — to  quote  a  contemporary  newspaper,  the 
Journal  de  Paris. 

But  danger  lurked  in  all  this  emotional  folly. 
The  Assembly  was  establishing  the  precedent  that 
the  King  was  to  be  lauded  to  the  skies  when  doing 
its  will;  that  it  could  coerce  him  by  showing  dis- 
approval. Had  Louis  been  a  different  kind  of  a 
man,  he  might  have  established  his  position  as  at 
least  a  co-ordinated  and  equal  power  in  the  state. 
But  now  he  entered  into  explanations;  he  allowed 
the  president  to  chide  and  warn  him,  and  then 
seemed  to  enjoy  the  "signs  of  love  and  gratitude,  " 
the  acclamations,  the  renewed  "inexpressible  trans- 
ports" that  his  humiHty  called  forth.  When  he 
finally  spoke  words  "seemingly  less  prepared  and 


56  The  French  Revolution 

therefore  coming  more  directly  from  the  heart," 
the  liveliest  emotions  were  excited.  Almost  the 
whole  Assembly  rose  and  followed  him  back  to  the 
palace.  Deputies  of  all  three  orders,  joining  hands, 
formed  a  sort  of  precinct,  a  semicircle,  in  the 
centre  of  which  walked  the  deluded  monarch  and 
his  two  brothers.  An  immense  crowd  followed 
behind  shouting  Vive  le  roi  1  Some  one  was  heard 
to  remark:  "He  needs  no  other  body-guards!" 
Every  one  spoke  to  him  and  he  spoke  to  every  one, 
which  was  very  unwise  and  unkingly.  A  woman 
of  the  people,  we  are  told,  threw  herself  on  his 
neck  and  he  showed  no  objection  to  being  kissed 
by  her.  Quite  the  contrary!  To  those  who 
attempted  to  pull  her  off  he  said,  "Let  her  come!" 
And  the  band  of  the  Swiss  guards  gaily  played  the 
vulgar  popular  song  of  the  hour:  "Where  is  one 
better  off  than  in  the  bosom  of  one's  family?" 
Louis  was  to  hear  that  song  again  at  a  less  happy 
moment,  as  we  shall  see  in  time.  He  was  all 
amiability  now,  all  subservience.  He  went  so  far 
as  to  say  of  De  Launay  who  had  tried  to  defend  his 
Bastile :   ' '  Ah,  he  merited  his  fate ! " ' 

The  cortege  followed  him  to  his  chapel;  the 
crowd  called  him  out  onto  his  balcony;  the  ap- 
plause was  deafening.  The  Queen  and  the  Dau- 
phin, too,  appeared  on  the  balcony  before  their 
loving  people.  Only  too  soon  they  were  to  appear 
there  again  under  different  circumstances. 

The  deputation  from  the  Assembly  sent  to  bring 
the  news  to  Paris  were  greeted  literally  as  "angels 

'  Bailly,  ii.,  42. 


[  ^ 


I 


a 
o 


c 


—  J 

—  a 


-"    ft) 

;£  : 
■r  TJ 


— :  « 


3 

c 


f* 


57 


58  The  French  Revolution 

of  peace. "  "  Never, "  so  they  themselves  reported 
to  the  Assembly, '  ' '  was  public  festival  so  beautiful, 
so  touching.  .  .  .  History  offers  no  other  such 
example;  history  will  never  succeed  in  reproduc- 
ing what  we  saw,  and,  above  all,  what  we  felt." 
It  was  in  the  midst  of  all  this  enthusiasm  that 
Lafayette  was  appointed  commander-general  of 
the  Parisian  militia,  and  Bailly,  mayor  of  Paris. 
A  crown  of  laurels  was  placed  on  the  latter's  head 
and  he  was  hailed  as  the  man  who  had  laid  the 
corner-stone  of  French  liberty. 

Louis  XVI,  in  response  to  the  clamours  of  the 
people,  now  sent  a  letter  recalling  Necker  to  the 
Assembly,  begging  that  it  be  forwarded  to  its 
destination.  He  himself  prepared  to  harvest  more 
''transports  and  tenderness"  by  appearing  among 
his  beloved  Parisians. 

The  visit  took  place  on  July  17th  and  all  Paris 
joined  in  the  welcome.  The  streets,  the  windows, 
and  the  roofs,  were  thronged  with  people.  Rich 
and  poor  consorted  together.  Affable  and  charm- 
ing ladies  scattered  tri-coloured  cockades  from 
their  balconies.  The  tufts  of  ribbon  floated  in  the 
air,  rose,  fell  and  were  fought  for  by  eager  warriors. 

We  have  an  elaborate  engraving  showing  Louis 
XVI  approaching  the  Hotel  de  Ville.^  Bailly  had 
already  met  him  at  the  city  gate  and  presented 
him  with  the  keys  of  Paris,  explaining  that  they 
were  the  same  keys  which  had  once  been  presented 
to  Henry  IV.  His  words  were  slightly  double- 
edged:  "He  [Henry  IV]  had  re-conquered  his  people 

'  Debats  et  Decrets,  July  i6,  1789.  »  Plate  22,  p.  57 


Plate  23.     An  cnKraviriK  showinK  Louis   X\'l   with  the  cap 
of  Liberty,  which  he  pubUcly  donned  on  July   17,  1789. 


59 


6o  The  French  Revolution 

but  now  it  is  the  people  who  have  re-conquered 
their  king."  Through  the  Place  de  Greve  Louis 
advanced  in  his  coach  and  eight.  In  front  of  him, 
on  the  face  of  the  clock  that  surmounted  the  Hotel 
de  Ville,  was  the  inscription:  "To  Louis  XVI,  father 
of  the  French  and  King  of  a  free  people."  All 
around  him  were  national  guards  and  behind  them 
was  a  vast  concourse  of  people.  Bailly  now  gave 
him  a  tri-coloured  cockade  with  "Sire,  I  have  the 
honour  to  present  your  Majesty  with  the  distinct- 
ive mark  of  the  French. "  Louis  took  the  cockade 
and  affixed  it  to  his  hat,  and  an  engraving  com- 
memorates the  moment.'  On  the  edge  of  the  cap 
the  words  are  inscribed:  "The  second  crown  of 
Louis  XVI."  Louis  stood  at  a  window  of  the 
Hotel  de  Ville  to  show  the  crowd  that  he  had 
accepted  the  cockade.  Cries  of  joy  rent  the  air, 
and  the  ladies  of  the  market  presented  him  with 
boughs  of  laurel,  symbol  of  peace.  It  was  voted 
by  acclamation  to  erect  a  statue  on  the  site  of 
the  Bastile  to  "Louis  XVI,  Restorer  of  French 
Liberty."^ 

The  revolutionary  newspapers  are  wild  with  joy, 
of  course,  over  this  self-abasement  of  the  King  and 
take  occasion  to  glorify  the  French  people :  "  O  my 
country,  thou  alone  knowest  how  to  adore,  even 
as  thou  knowest  how  to  avenge!"^  It  is  consid- 
ered remarkable  that  a  people  which  has  just  been 
"snatching  from  the  breasts  of  traitors  their  palpi- 
tating entrails"  should  now  "go  with  radiant  brow 

•  Plate  23,  p.  59  » Plate  24,  p.  61 

3  Revolutions  de  Paris,  July  17. 


Plato  24.     Luuis  X\'I  dcpicle<l  as  the  "  Restorer  of  1-icnch 

Liberty." 


(<\ 


62  The  French  Revolution 

to  offer  its  king  the  palm  of  peace. "  "  Frenchmen 
what  loyalty,  what  confidence!" 

The  cult  of  the  revolution  was  fast  becoming  a 
religion.  Over  a  portrait  of  Bailly'  engraved  in 
connection  with  his  appointment  as  mayor,  we 
have  the  tri-coloured  cockade  with  a  motto  other- 
wise associated  only  with  the  cross  of  Christ: 
In  hoc  signo  vicimiis. 

Adoring  and  avenging  were  indeed  to  be  very 
closely  associated  in  these  first  exciting  days  of  the 
Revolution.  A  week  after  the  storming  of  the  Bas- 
tile,  there  was  another  bloody  demonstration  in 
Paris.  Foulon,  Necker's  temporary  successor,  and 
Foulon's  son-in-law,  Berthier,  fell  as  victims  to  the 
popular  hatred.  Had  not  Foulon  enriched  him- 
self at  the  expense  of  a  starving  people?  Had  he 
not,  fearing  the  people's  wrath,  pretended  to  be 
dead  and  caused  a  dead  servant  in  his  place  to  be 
given  a  pompous  burial?  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he 
had  probably  done  neither  of  these  things— but  the 
mere  rumour  of  them  sufficed  to  ruin  him.  Foulon 
was  arrested  at  the  country  house  of  a  friend,  a 
Monsieur  de  Sartines,  and  because  either  he  or 
Monsieur  de  Sartines — no  one  was  quite  sure  which 
— had  asked  why  the  people  if  they  were  so  hun- 
gry did  not  eat  hay,  was  sent  to  Paris  with  a 
bundle  of  hay  on  his  back  and  a  bunch  of  thistles 
in  his  button-hole.  He  was  strung  up  to  the  lamp- 
bracket  at  one  corner  of  the  Place  de  Greve.  The 
rope  broke  with  his  weight;  he  was  strung  up 
again,  this  time  successfully.     He  was  decapitated; 

'  Plate  25,  p.  63 


M,^m0:j    f*r    ami     rir  ^/^rmitv^J     m    ^*^^^t    Jf     U   »^''' 


- y\  )'. ■' ,/  L/\r'' /i/r  </    '     K <:i. If/y/fru/.i  <)r  f(  f  •■'rm/z^r  f  f 


4  Ai   Jk.  M, 


^  #««■.'  *.. 


Plate  25.     A  ijorlrail  (.1   Hailly  oviT  which  is  the  natiunal  cockade 
with  the  motto  In  hoc  stgno  vicimus. 


63 


64 


The  French  Revolution 


his  head  was  stuck  on  a  lance  and,  with  a  wisp  of 
hay  fastened  in  his  mouth,  was  paraded  about  the 
streets.  The  wisp  of  hay  in  his  mouth  was,  says 
the  RevoliUiofis  de  Paris,^  "el  striking  allusion  to 
the  inhuman  sentiments  of  this  barbarous  man": 


LE    COXCLtSIM   J)K  LA   l)I''''i'>'' 


Plate  26.     A  satirical  production  called  "  The  Conclusion  of  the  Diet," 
showing  the  evil  results  of  forcing  one  cap  upon  the  three  estates. 

and  the  same  journal  tells  us  that  Foulon's  body 
was  dragged  everywhere  through  the  mud  and 
"announced  to  the  tyrants  the  terrible  vengeance 
of  a  justly  irritated  people. " 

Some  one  had  the  humourous  idea  of  thrusting 
Foulon's  gory  head  into  the  carriage  which  bore 
Berthier,  his  son-in-law,  to  Paris.     It  was  a  fine 

'  July  23d. 


/r     C  n/n//nfcur Jc/Z/yote 


Plate  2-j.     A  Ijl(><j<lllur.,ly  tarUxjn  tallnl  "  Tin-   I'uiriouc  l  aU  ulator,' 

showing  the  Frenchman  making  out  a  hill  for  eiglu   heads 

paid  on  account,  tweh'c  still  due 


65 


66 


The  French  Revolution 


reminder  of  the  fate  that  was  impending  for  Ber- 
thier  himself.  Each  zealous  patriot  vied  with  the 
other  in  showing  disgust  for  such  enemies  of  the 
people.  Berthier's  head  on  a  stake  already  seemed 
too  tame  an  emblem.     His  heart,  too,  was  cut  out 


(■  •/>//;, 


c/ig-    /iZ(. 


//,/■. 


,h. 


u/i  /jeau  /our 


Plate  28.      A  cartoon  called  "The  great  Step  accomplished,  or  the  Dawn 

of  a  fine  Day,"  which  shows  the  Frenchman  advancing  over  heads, 

Bastiles,  etc.,  to  join  with  the  King  and  observe  the  law. 

of  his  body,  was  stuck  on  the  point  of  a  knife  and 
carried  about.  The  Revolutions  de  Paris  seems 
rather  to  gloat  over  the  episode.  It  tells  how  some 
went  so  far  as  to  dip  the  shreds  of  flesh  into  the 
beverage  they  were  consuming:  "Frenchmen,  you 
exterminate  tyrants;  your  hatred  is  revolting,  it  is 
frightful — but  at  last  you  shall  be  free!" 


./  ««.*   ftutA   .•/^u.Va'  ../  , 


./^/. 


Plate  29.     A  cartoon  called  the  "Constitution  of  France,"  showing 
Netker  borne  aloft  by  the  Due  d'Orldans  and  Lafayette,  while  the 
chains  of  servitude  are  trampled  under  foot. 


67 


68 


The  French  Revolution 


A  satire  of  the  time  entitled  "The  Conclusion  of 
the  Diet " '  shows  the  net  result  of  trying  to  fit  the 
cap  of  liberty  onto  the  heads  of  the  three  orders. 


Plate  30.     An  allegorical  representation  to  the  glory  of  Necker,  entitled 
"Virtue  surmounts  all  Obstacles."      (Remarkable  because  the 
recall  of  Necker  is  attributed  to  the  Queen.) 

All  have  woe-begone  expressions  of  countenance, 
while  everywhere  one  sees  nothing  but  death  and 
destruction. 

The  blood-thirstiness  of  the  time  is  well  shown 

'  Plate  26,  p.  64 


.-.*«-     //««.  //  - 


Plate  31.     An  elaborate  alle>;nrical  representation  in  whiih  Louis 
XVI  conducts  Necker  along  the  j)ath  of  ii\nry  and 
presents  him  to  the  National  Assembly. 
69 


70  The  French  Revolution 

forth  in  some  of  these  artistic  productions.  In  the 
"Patriotic  Calculator"'  the  worthy  citizen  smiles 
as  he  sits  before  his  table  of  heads — one  sees  that  of 
Foulon  among  the  others,  with  the  wisp  of  hay  in 
its  mouth.  On  his  tablet  the  citizen  writes :  * '  Due, 
twenty ;  paid  on  account,  eight ;  remainder,  twelve. ' ' 
In  "The  great  Step  accomplished,  or  the  Dawn  of 
a  fine  Day,  "^  we  see  how,  over  the  ruins  of  the 
Bastile,  with  one  foot  planted  squarely  on  the 
heads  of  the  fallen,  the  French  patriot  is  hastening 
to  join  hands  with  Louis  XVI  so  that  together  they 
may  govern  in  the  name  of  the  law ;  while  the  sun, 
rising  in  full  splendour,  gives  promise  of  brightness 
for  the  coming  day. 

The  next  great  popular  excitement,  also  mir- 
rored freely  in  the  artistic  productions  of  the  time, 
was  the  return  of  Necker  in  answer  to  the  invita- 
tion sent  him  by  Louis  XVI.  He  came  like  a 
conquering  hero,  an  immense  multitude  going  out 
to  the  city  gate  to  welcome  him.  Tears  of  joy, 
we  are  told,  fell  from  almost  every  eye,  and  each 
would  have  been  glad  of  a  thousand  voices,  a 
thousand  hands:  "Oh,  who  will  paint  the  delicious 
transports  of  this  fete?"  asks  a  newspaper.  .  .  . 
' '  Here,  crowns  of  flowers  are  offered  to  the  liberator 
of  France ;  there,  tributes  of  the  ingenious  muses 
who  celebrate  his  talents  and  his  virtues. "  Among 
the  "tributes  of  the  ingenious  muses"  we  must 
reckon  our  allegorical  representations.  In  one  en- 
titled the  "Constitution  of  France,"-'  we  have 
Necker  borne  aloft  by  Lafayette  and  D' Orleans 

'  Plate  27,  p.  65.  ^  Plate  28,  p.  66.  ^  Plate  29,  p.  67. 


Liberty 


71 


while  with  his  feet  he  tramples  on  the  instruments 
of  slavery.  With  one  hand  he  holds  up  the  crown 
of  France;  in  the  otlier  he  carries  a  pole  with  a  cap 


P  ^5  cffirvgsr,. 


^^"K  fuy  Maiirons<i**' 


Plate  32.     A  cartoon  in  which  the  King  and  Necker  arc  I^rcuking 

the  chains  of  a  grateful  third  estate  while  Discord 

takes  to  flight. 

of  liberty.  In  "  Virtue  surmounting  all  Obstacles, ' ' ' 
we  have  France  showing  Necker  U^  h(T  children 
while  Fame  announces  him  with  her  lrumi)et. 
Justice,  Abundance,  and  Prudence  sit  at  liis  feet, 

'  Ilatc  30,  p.  68. 


72  The  French  Revolution 

and  Apollo  with  his  darts  chases  away  loathsome 
Envy,  Hatred,  and  Discord. 

More  elaborate  still  is  a  production  called,  "The 
Epoch  of  French  Liberty ' ' '  where  an  ermine-clad 
and  fleurs-de-lis-covered  Louis  XVI  conducts 
Necker  along  the  path  of  glory  towards  the  three 
estates,  which  stand  together  under  the  equally- 
balanced  scales.  A  hand  in  the  clouds  holds  the 
torch  of  truth  which  Diogenes  is  pointing  out  to 
Jean  Jacques  Rousseau.  The  sage  of  the  tub  is 
trampling  on  his  lantern.  What  need  has  he  now 
of  any  artificial  light?  Is  not  his  search  ended? 
Has  he  not  found  in  every  French  citizen  that  for 
which  he  was  looking — a  man? 

In  still  another  allegory,^  the  King  and  his  minis- 
ter are  breaking  the  chains  of  the  third  estate,  while 
hideous  Discord  is  taking  to  flight. 

'  Plate  31,  p.  69.  ^  Plate  32,  p.  71. 


CHAPTER  III 

EQUALITY 

AFTER  the  fall  of  the  Bastile,  the  National 
Assembly  began  to  busy  itself  in  earnest 
with  the  new  constitution.  A  cartoon' 
shows  the  three  estates,  each  with  his  great  ham- 
mer, welding  into  shape  the  book  of  the  law  which 
lies  on  an  anvil.  On  the  very  day  of  the  attack  on 
the  fortress  a  committee  had  been  appointed  to 
formulate  the  rights  of  man — his  fundamental, 
inalienable  rights — ^and  this  was  to  serve  as  a  pre- 
amble to  the  whole. 

Already  on  July  i  ith  Lafayette  had  handed  in  a 
draft  of  "rights,"'  reminiscent  of  the  American 
constitution,  that  would  have  answered  very  well 
for  every  practical  purpose.  They  included  liberty 
of  person,  speech,  and  opinion,  the  right  to  one's 
own  property,  the  right  to  be  happy  and  to  resist 
oppression.  But  instead  of  adopting  this  IxxHly 
and  proceeding  to  take  up  the  evils  that  were  cry- 
ing aloud  for  remedy,  these  twelve  hundred  men 
debated  hour  after  hour  and  week  after  week  on 
purely  theoretical  matters.  Ignorance  of  these 
rights  of  man,  it  was  argued,  had  kept  the   French 

'  Plate  33,  p.  74  '  Ruduz  i-l  Roiix,  ii..  7K. 

73 


74 


The  French  Revolution 


under  the  heel  of  despotism;  the  programme  must 
first  be  laid  down  before  any  individual  measures 
were  discussed.     In  vain  Dumouriez,  the  future 


tot    //;?     tvt 

uaitey    c/uuia 

.       lot    /^/     tSt 

ht'ii    Coi/rrUi^c' 

///<•////  (U'oir  LcVf/fi!  I oui  raoe . 


Plate  33.     A  cartoon  showing  the  three  estates  forging  away  at  the  new 

constitution. 

victor  of  Valmy  and  Genappe,  declared  that  what 
Frenchmen  needed  was  a  knowledge  of  their  duties 
rather  than  of  their  rights ;  in  vain  he  pleaded  that 
this  was  the  plan  on  which  the  much-admired 
Americans  had  proceeded. ' 

'  Memoires  (Hamburg,  1795),  ii.,  24. 


Equality 


/v^ 


Triumphantly  at  last  the  world  was  told  that 
"all  men  are  equal  before  the  law;"  that  "liberty 
consists  in  doing  whatever  does  not  harm  others;" 
that  "no  one  may  be  punished  save  by  a  law 
established  and  promulgated  previously  to  the 
crime;"  that  "every  man  is  to  be  presumed  in- 
nocent until  he  has  been  declared  guilty;"  that 
"no  one  is  to  be  molested  on  account  of  his 
opinions."  These — and  there  were  many  more 
— were  laid  down  as  those  rights  of  man  "ig- 
norance, forgetfulness,  or  scorn  of  which  are  the 
sole  causes  of  public  misfortunes."'  Had  these 
"rights"  been  formulated  for  the  very  purpose  of 
presenting  a  contrast  to  the  principles  that  were  to 
govern  the  Revolution  they  could  not  have  been 
worded  more  strongly.  How  many  persons,  for 
instance,  were  to  be  presumed  innocent  until  they 
had  been  declared  guilty?  Foulon,  perhaps?  Or 
Berthier?  And  the  rights  of  property — how  about 
the  forced  loans,  the  "voluntary"  contributions? 
As  for  non-molestation  on  account  of  opinions, 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  grand  majority  of  arrests 
and  guillotinings  were  to  be  more  because  of  opin- 
ions expressed,  or  even  supposed  to  be  cherished 
in  secret,  than  for  any  other  cause. 

Never  could  there  have  been  a  less  fav(3urablc 
time  for  prolonged  and  unpractical  deliberations. 
Brigands — some  few, perhaps, in  the  flesh, but  many 
thousands  more  in  the  frightened  popular  imag- 
ination— were    terrorizing    the  country    districts; 

'  Duguit  ct  Mounier:  I^s  constitutions  ei  Us  principaUs  his  politiqufs 
<U  la  France  (Upuis    ijSq. 


76  The  French  Revolution 

chateaux  and  monasteries  were  being  sacked  in 
search  of  title-deeds  and  feudal  charters;  the  skies 
were  red  with  burning  buildings.  Feudal  dues  and 
rents  could  no  longer  be  collected;  the  laws  were 
without  force,  the  magistrates  without  authority. 
"  The  peasants,"  writes  a  newspaper,  ^  "declare  that 
neither  their  persons  nor  their  goods  can  form  part 
of  the  property  of  the  seigneurs."  It  was  a  new 
phase  of  the  eternal  dispute  between  capital  and 
labour.  Beyond  a  doubt  there  were  evils  that 
needed  reforming;  but  in  this  imperfect  world  the 
cooperation  of  the  capitalist,  be  he  feudal  lord  or 
merely  a  more  enterprising  fellow-citizen,  is  neces- 
sary to  make  labour  of  any  tangible  value. 

What  course  could  the  National  Assembly  pur- 
sue? It  was  bound  to  respect  the  rights  of  prop- 
erty, yet  it  stood  for  freedom  and  for  emancipation 
from  the  old  trammels.  It  could  not  well  attempt 
to  suppress  the  troubles  by  force  of  arms;  it  could 
not  even  permit  this  to  be  done  by  the  King,  the 
chief  executive  power.  How  could  it  entrust  him 
with  an  army  after  the  uproar  caused  by  his  order- 
ing a  few  regiments  to  Paris?  The  Assembly  had 
already  declared  itself  in  favour  of  enjoining  on 
the  peasantry  the  necessity  of  paying  the  custom- 
ary feudal  dues;  it  had  spoken  of  the  "sacred 
rights  of  property"  and  of  the  "ancient  laws  that 
still  subsist  and  that  must  be  obeyed  until  the 
authority  of  the  nation  shall  have  modified  or 
abrogated  them,"  when  there  suddenly  was  enacted 
one  of  the  most  striking  scenes  in  all  French  his- 

'  Journal  de  Paris,  Aug.  6. 


Equality 


n 


tory,  one  that  changed  the  whole  course  of  events. 
But  was  it  altogether  wise  this  sweeping  concession 
to  popular  demands,  demands  presented,  so  to 
speak,  sword  in  hand? 

In  the   National  Assembly  on  the  evening  of 


A'/// 7  m:  4    If  '  Aovr  r<'^>) 
ttv  i.K  lif.i.iHr.  PAi mo  in>i  I. 


Plate  34.     A  cartoon  representing  the  French  nation  in  a  patriotic  dcliriuin 
breaking  clown  feudalism  on  August  4,  17S9. 


August  4,  1789,  the  measures  to  be  adopted  with 
regard  to  the  peasants  were  under  discussion,  when 
the  Vicomte  dc  Noaillcs,  seconded  by  other  nobles, 
rose  and  proposed  the  abolition  of  all  feudal  rights 
over  persons  and  the  redemption  for  money  of  all 
feudal  dues  that  had  to  do  with  landed  ])roperl\-. 
This  proposal  of  De  Noailles  seems  to  have  been 
made  partly  from  a  spirit  of  purr  rlcn'otion  and 


78  The  French  Revolution 

generosity,  but  also  partly  because  by  renouncing 
possessions  that  had  become  untenable  it  was  hoped 
to  secure  other  advantages .  Whatever  the  motives , 
a  strong  wave  of  renunciation  swept  over  the 
Assembly.  The  members  were  seized  with  what  a 
cartoonist  depicts  as  a  patriotic  delirium. '  They 
are  hammering  to  bits  with  their  flails  all  the 
emblems  of  the  feudal  system — the  armour,  the 
shield;  the  sv/ord  of  the  noble,  the  crozier  and 
mitre  of  the  ecclesiastical  prince. 

The  allegory  is  no  exaggeration.  The  system 
that  had  lasted  for  nearly  a  thousand  years  fell 
in  a  single  night.  Those  four  hours  saw  greater 
changes  than  had  been  witnessed  by  many  cen- 
turies.^ Never,  we  are  told,  had  so  many  deputies 
claimed  the  floor,  and  no  one  spoke  but  to  offer, 
promise,  or  consummate  some  sacrifice.  There 
were  eloquent  appeals,  too: 

"Be  just,  sirs,"  cried  a  Breton  deputy;  "let  them  bring 
to  us  here  those  title-deeds  that  outrage  not  merely  mod- 
esty but  even  humanity !  Let  them  bring  those  deeds  that 
humiliate  the  human  race  by  requiring  men  to  be  harnessed 
to  a  plough  like  beasts  of  burden;  let  them  bring  those 
deeds  which  oblige  men  to  pass  nights  in  beating  the  edges 
of  ponds  to  keep  the  frogs  from  troubling  the  sleep  of  their 
voluptuous  lords !  Who  of  us,  sirs,  would  not  make  of  these 
infamous  parchments  an  expiatory  pyre  and  would  not 
apply  the  torch  to  consummate  their  sacrifice  on  the  altar 
of  the  fatherland?  " 

Motions  of  renunciation  were  made,  seconded 

•  Plate  34,  p.  77 

'  The  Debats  et  Decrets  and  the  Journal  de  Paris  give  the  best  accounts. 


Plato  35.     An  alkgoric.-il  representation  whii  li  shows  Irann-  insiril)inK  on  a 
monument  the  feudal  privileges  renounced  on  August  4,  1789. 


79 


8o  The  French  Revolution 

and  passed  with  such  rapidity  that  they  could 
scarcely  be  recorded.  Seigniorial  jurisdictions; 
whole  categories  of  tithes  and  clerical  fees;  the 
odious  hunting  privileges  that  had  so  often  been  the 
ruin  of  the  farmer's  fields ;  the  right  to  keep  doves 
who  lived  on  his  grain ;  the  main  morte  or  exemption 
of  church  lands:  all  this  and  much  more  was  de- 
clared abolished.  Taxation  was  to  be  equalized; 
the  administration  of  justice  reformed  so  that  the 
poor  might  more  readily  be  given  satisfaction; 
local  barriers  of  privilege  even  between  province 
and  province  to  be  thrown  down. 

"At  last,"  writes  the  Journal  de  Paris,  "this  magnificent 
scene,  so  worthy  to  be  transmitted  to  all  ages  and  to  serve 
as  a  model  for  all  nations,  was  terminated  by  a  motion  of  the 
Due  de  Liancourt  to  consecrate  it  by  a  medal  on  which 
should  be  engraved  the  inscription :  '  To  the  abolition  of 
all  privileges  and  to  the  perfect  reunion  of  all  the  provinces, 
and  all  the  citizens.'  In  a  moment  so  beautiful,  of  such 
great  felicity,  it  was  natural  for  souls  full  of  joy  and  tender- 
ness to  be  uplifted  to  Heaven.  The  Archbishop  of  Paris 
proposed  a  general  prostration  at  the  feet  of  the  altars  of 
Notre  Dame  and  the  singing  of  a  Te  Deum.  All  the 
deputies  seemed  as  religious  as  this  prelate." 

An  allegorical  representation '  entitled  ' '  The  lib- 
erty of  France"  shows  France  inscribing  on  a  monu- 
ment all  the  achievements  of  August  4th.  To  the 
right,  youths  and  maidens  are  gaily  dancing  on  the 
turf;  to  the  left,  we  have  Commerce  reviving,  while 
above,  in  the  air,  we  have  Fame  blowing  her  trumpet 

'  Plate  35,  p.  79. 


i 


Plate  36.     A  representation  of  the  Friinhwoman 
become  free. 


8x 


82       .        The  French  Revolution 

and  the  devil  flying  away  with  the  tithes  and 
privileges. 

The  Revolutions  de  Paris^  tells  us  with  what  an 
intoxication  of  joy  the  news  of  the  happenings 
in  the  Assembly  was  ever3rwhere  greeted.  The 
deputies  were  hailed  as  fathers  of  their  country. 
A  new  day  was  believed  to  be  dawning  for  France. 
Groups  formed  in  the  streets  or  waited  to  tell  the 
good  news  to  those  who  came  over  the  bridges. 
Every  one  congratulated  every  one  else — nay  one 
saw  citizens  fall  into  each  other's  arms. 

Happier  than  any  one  else  seem  to  have  been 
the  women  of  the  market.  Whether  they  really 
ever  dressed  as  an  engraving  of  the  time  represents 
them^  is  not  certain.  At  all  events,  they  love  to 
place  themselves  in  evidence,  now,  on  all  occasions. 
A  number  of  them  appeared  at  the  palace  of  Ver- 
sailles and  congratulated  the  King  and  Queen  on 
the  general  progress  of  events.  They  addressed 
the  former  as  "dear  man, "  "good  friend,"  and  the 
like,  and  said  to  the  Queen,  "Open  your  heart  [the 
word  used  is  entr allies!  ]  to  us  even  as  we  open  ours 
to  you."  Their  majesties,  we  are  told,  received 
them  in  the  warmest  manner.  The  people  were 
not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  their  new  privileges. 
What  a  joy  to  kill  the  game — the  does  and  stags, 
the  rabbits,  hares,  partridges,  and  pigeons — that 
had  so  long  been  looked  upon  as  nothing  but  a 
scourge!  We  hear  of  districts  where  not  even  a 
sparrow  was  left  alive.  Only  the  preserves  of  the 
Due  d' Orleans,  that  cousin  of  the  King  who  had 

'  Aug.  5th.  '  Plate  36,  p.  81. 


Equality  83 

taken  his  seat  in  the  States-General  as  a  simple 
deputy,  were  spared.  His  name  was  everywhere 
uttered  with  tenderness. 

One  can  imagine  that  the  artists  were  not  idle 
at  this  time.  More  than  once  we  find  the  subject 
of  the  abolition  of  the  privileges  treated  on  the 
plan  of  before  and  after.  In  one  such  production' 
we  have  first  the  peasant,  "the  man  of  tears,"  bent 
double  beneath  the  weight  of  the  fat  prelate  and 
the  smug  noble,  the  latter  with  a  sword  that  is  "red- 
dened with  blood. ' '  One  sees  the  rabbits  busily  eat- 
ing the  peasant's  cabbage  and  the  pigeons  his  grain. 

But  in  the  pendant  to  the  picture,^  all  is  changed. 
The  peasant  shouting  "Long  live  the  King,  long 
live  the  nation!"  is  riding  on  the  back  of  a  most 
chastened  noble  who  wears  the  tri-coloured  cockade 
in  his  hat  and  whose  sword  bears  the  inscription, 
"To  protect  the  nation."  The  noble  in  turn  is 
leaning  on  a  chastened  clergy  who  bears  in  his 
hand  the  emblems  of  liberty  and  equality  and  relief 
for  the  people.  The  peasant  is  clapping  his  hands 
in  glee;  on  his  shoulder  is  a  sword  with  the  inscrip- 
tion, "Full  of  courage,"  and  from  the  end  of  it 
dangles  a  dead  rabbit.  The  pigeons  lie  prone  on 
their  backs,  their  stiffened  legs  in  the  air,  while  the 
cabbage,  no  longer  nibbled  and  gnawed  at,  has 
thrown  out  fine  curling  leaves. 

A  somewhat  similar  double  production  is  called 
"The  Frenchman  hitherto,"-*  and  "The  French- 
man to-day.  "■*     It  is  consecrated  to  the  abuses  of 

■  I'lat<-  37,  J).  84.  '  Plate  38,  p.  85. 

J  I'latc  39,  p.  86.  *  IMatL-  40,  p.  87. 


A  YJ\n     ESrtliER  Q'VrJtiJ  la  rKViiV.  r^M-roT 


Plate  37.     A  double  cartoon  representing  the  change  wrought  in  the 
condition  of  the  peasant  by  the  renunciations  of 
August  4th.     Before. 


84 


.R 


V!\r  \f  Roi  .  Vrc  Ia  N.ltlO 


J    .SWOIS  IlKN   Ml    JAl  KIO.N.S   NUi      lOl   K 


Plate  38.     A  double  cartoon  reprcsentinK  tlu'  thrinKt-  wnmglit  in 

the  condition  of  the  peasunl  l)y  tlie  renunciations  of 

August  4th.      After. 


85 


i  // la//iez<r~a/.z'  a^//!//ir  //<'  i'/<v/  ^\r/;,/c  t^e  Av/^'  A:''  rr/t 


:'i 


^gaa^S^yg^y^^^^  '^ 


Plate  39.     A  double  cartoon  representing  the  Frenchman 

formerly  and  the  Frenchman  now.     The  Frenchman 

formerly. 


86 


La  mvr^ 


L  ^  yv  Yi/icc)  /s  c)  'a^//o^//  ^cJ/ii/z 


Plate  40.     A  double  cartoon  R-prcscntinyj  the  Frernhman  formerly  and  the 
Frenchman  now.      The  Frenchman  now. 
87 


88 


The  French  Revolution 


the  law-courts  remedied  by  these  decrees  of  August 
4th  and  by  subsequent  ones.     All    the  different 


Plate  41.     A  national  guard  in  uniform. 

fees  and  exactions  are  represented  as  so  many  rats 
gnawing  at  one  who  cannot  escape,  being  held  in 


Equality  89 

a  sort  of  crate  which  is  chained  to  the  mill  and  bak- 
ing-oven of  the  feudal  lord.  The  former  police  is 
represented  as  the  very  devil,  as  a  spy  and  a  rogue. 
But  in  the  companion  picture,  all  is  changed,  and 
the  ghastly  heap  of  heads  on  the  ground  at  the  left 
gives  one  an  inkling  of  how  it  has  been  accomplished. 
The  rats  are  all  dead  and  hang  by  the  tails  from 
the  shaft  of  the  national  weapon,  the  pike.  If  we 
compare  the  dress  of  the  peasant  with  the  uniform 
of  the  National  Guards '  we  shall  see  that  we  are 
dealing  with  a  defender  of  his  country.  The  coat 
was  of  royal  blue,  the  collar  red,  the  trousers, 
waistcoat,  and  facings  white. 

An  era  of  peace  and  good-will  did,  indeed,  seem 
to  have  dawned.  Ladies  of  the  market  in  proces- 
sions gay  with  garlands  and  ribbons  give  thanks  to 
patron  saints;  the  great  lantern  is  put  back  on  its 
bracket  in  the  Place  de  Greve  as  though  no  further 
hangings  were  anticipated ;  the  National  Guards  are 
given  a  new  ensign,  representing  not  an  eagle  but 
a  cock  which,  we  are  told  in  an  inscription,  can 
sing  as  well  as  fight.  A  banner  is  to  display  the 
sentence:  "Under  Louis  XVI  the  Frenchman  has 
become  free  and  a  soldier,  and  the  soldier  has 
shown  himself  a  citizen."  This  is  to  replace  the 
old  oriflamme  of  the  Bourlxms. 

Meanwhile  the  work  on  the  Constitution  made 
such  progress  that,  by  the  beginning  of  October, 
the  Rights  of  Man  and  nineteen  articles  had  been 
completed.  Friction  in  the  Assembly,  indeed,  had 
delayed  the  work  considerably.     One  faction  saw 

'Plutc4i,  p.  88. 


90  The  French  Revolution 

no  reason  for  not  taking  over  from  England  what 
was  best  in  her  Parliamentary  institutions;  but 
this  idea  was  opposed  tooth  and  nail  by  others  who 
professed  to  think  that  England  was  under  an 
oppressive  government.  Horrible  were  the  pic- 
tures, literally  pictures,  in  which  these  ideas  found 
vent.  In  one  called  "The  English  Constitution, "  ^ 
we  have  Pitt  trampling  the  crown  under  foot.  In 
his  right  hand  he  holds  the  ends  of  the  chains  that 
are  around  the  necks  of  the  king,  the  lords,  and  the 
commons;  in  his  left  is  the  staff  of  the  flag  of 
tyranny,  with  fetters,  flails,  and  instruments  of 
torture.  In  the  background  are  a  gallows  with  its 
noosed  ropes,  and  a  scaffold  with  the  headsman  and 
his  axe. 

Equally  specific  is  the  cartoon  entitled  "The 
Frenchman  and  the  Englishman  rendering  homage 
to  Liberty  each  after  his  own  fashion."^  The 
Englishman  is  chained  to  his  constitution,  his 
civil  list,  his  House  of  Lords,  his  Parliament,  his 
clergy,  his  taxes  on  the  very  air  one  breathes.  One 
sees  that  he  is  cursing  Liberty  and  is  trying  to 
escape.  But  the  Frenchman  is  burning  incense  to 
her  on  an  altar ;  he  waves  his  hand  in  her  direction 
with  a  happy,  satisfied  air  of  proprietorship. 
Behind  him  are  a  tree  of  liberty,  a  cap,  a  tri-col- 
oured  banner.  One  sees  broken  chains,  and  he  is 
treading  on  the  fleur-de-lis. 

One  must  make  large  allowances  for  artistic 
license  in  all  this.  Very  far  was  the  Frenchman  at 
this  juncture  from  being  happy  and  contented. 

'  Plate  42,  p.  91.  '  Plate  43,  p.  92. 


rONSi*  1  i!  i  4v>iN   O  AMlil.F.Tt:a<liK 


Plate  42.     A  representation  intended  to  show  what  an  advantage  the  free 

Frenchman  has  (jvct  tlic  enslaved  Englishman.     Pitt  is  trampling 

on  the  Lfown  and  h')lding  the  parliament  ciicliaincJ. 


91 


92 


The  French  Revolution 


The  rich  and  the  poor,  the  common  man  and  the 
aristocrat,  were  in  bitter  enmity.  More  and  more 
the  latter  were  taking  to  flight.  We  have  a  cari- 
cature '  of  the  first  batch  of  emigres  which  included 


Plate  43.     A  cartoon  showing  the  contrast  between  an  Englishman's 
manner  of  doing  homage  to  Liberty  and  a  Frenchman's. 

the  Queen's  favourite,  Madame  de  Polignac,  and 
the  King's  younger  brother,  the  Comte  d'Artois. 
It  is  Madame  de  Polignac  who  is  sitting  in  the 
basket  and  belabouring  her  donkey. 

The  whole  relation  of  employer  and  employed 
had  been  radically  changed.     Gone  were  the  re- 

'  Plate  44,  p.  93. 


Equality 


93 


spectful  lackeys  and  grooms  of  other  days.  The 
army  of  the  unemployed  grew  from  day  to  day, 
almost  from  hour  to  hour;  and  want  and  misery 
now  did,  indeed,  assume  frightful  proportions.  The 
necessaries  of  life  were  growing  appallingly  scarce; 


Plate  44.     A  caricature  of  the  first  emigres  leaving  France.     Madame 

do  Polignac,  the  Queen's  favourite,  is  in  the  donkey-ljasket.     The 

King's  brother  is  on  horseback. 

the  whole  machinery  of  supplying  them  had  broken 
down.  The  discontent  grew  in  proportion — among 
the  women,  especially,  who  had  to  stand  in  line 
many  hours  at  a  time  waiting  to  purchase  a  few 
pennies'  worth  of  bread  at  the  l)akeries. 

Patient  the  I'reneh  never  were.  The  present 
crisis  was  not  the  fault  of  any  one  or  two  persons — • 
not  of  the  King,  not  of  the  Queen.  Indeecl  llu; 
royal  pair  did  Ihcir  best  to  alleviate  the  sulTering 


94  The  French  Revolution 

by  sending  their  silver  plate  to  the  mint  and  having 
the  waters  of  Versailles  harnessed  to  the  flour 
mills.  It  was  the  fault  of  circumstances:  of  the 
disorganisation  of  trade,  the  upsetting  of  credit, 
the  general  unrest.  The  harvest  of  1789  was 
excellent,^  but  those  who  should  have  been  gather- 
ing it  were  busy  elsewhere,  busy  playing  politics  or 
enrolling  in  the  National  Guard. 

"To-day  there  were  violent  struggles  at  the 
doors  of  the  bakeries — happy  is  he  who  can  get 
bread,"  writes  the  Revolutions  de  Paris  on  August 
25th,  "there  is  no  more  in  the  villages  near  the  capi- 
tal— they  are  living  on  vegetables ;  at  Sevres  they 
are  making  cakes."  ^  The  same  paper  accuses  the 
court  and  the  aristocrats  of  a  diabolical  plot,  with 
deliberately  causing  famine  and  fomenting  anarchy 
in  order  to  disgust  the  people  with  the  new  order 
of  things. 

The  National  Assembly  itself  was  in  financial 
straits  and  was  glad  to  receive  voluntary  gifts. 
There  was  something  sentimentally  gratifying  in 
the  sight  of  these  ladies  entering  the  august  pre- 
cincts and  laying  down  their  jewels  on  the  altar  of 
the  fatherland.  In  a  moment  of  patriotic  exalta- 
tion, the  deputies  even  removed  the  silver  buckles 
from  their  own  shoes.  But  it  was  a  most  uncert- 
ain manner  of  providing  revenue  for  the  govern- 
ment of  a  great  state;  and  moreover  the  time 
wasted  in  receiving  and  duly  honouring  generous- 
minded  deputations  was  considerable.  We  hear 
of  young  women  haranguing  and  being  harangued, 

'  Jaures,  i.,  331.  '  Brioches  is  the  French  word. 


Equality  9v5 

of  honours  accorded  to  them  hitherto  reserved 
exclusively  for  crowned  heads.  Necker  finally  in- 
vented an  effective  compromise.  He  called  for  a 
general  "voluntary  contribution"  which  was  to 
amount  to  one  quarter  of  each  person's  income. 
Where  the  voluntar}^  part  of  it  came  in  is  difficult 
to  see.  There  was  to  be  a  tax,  too,  on  all  silver 
and  gold  plate.  One  might  assess  oneself,  but  the 
amounts  were  to  be  publicly  Usted. 

As  the  poverty  increased  so  did  the  general 
excitement.  The  women  began  to  give  louder  and 
louder  voice  to  their  grievances,  sending  deputa- 
tions to  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  demanding  lower 
prices,  less  delay.  They  were  goaded  on  by  the 
newspapers  and  especially  by  the  hysterical  shrieks 
of  Marat's  Piibliciste  de  Paris,  forenmner  of  his 
Ami  (ill  Pen  ph.  Marat  is  the  enemy  of  all  who 
are  not  zealous  Revolutionists:  "I  am  the  eye  of 
the  people,  you  are  but  its  little  finger!"  he  said 
proudly  to  the  authorities  in  the  Hotel  de  Ville.' 

There  were  two  main  grievances  against  the  court 
at  this  time.  The  King  had  not  yet  sanctioned, 
indeed  had  dared  to  criticise,  the  "Rights  of  Man, " 
and — with  the  consent  of  the  local  authorities, 
as  well  as  of  the  National  Assembly^  indeed — ^had 
summoned  a  fresh  regiment,  the  regiment  of  Flan- 
ders, to  Versailles.  On  October  ist  his  guards  had 
feted  this  regiment  in  what  was  reported  as  an  anti- 
national  org}'' ;  a  Versailles  newspaper  published  the 

•  Jaurts,  i.,  332  fT. 

'See  till-  testimony  <>f  Miomau'lrc  dc  Chateauncuf  in  llic  Proctdure 
crtmtnelle  instrutte  au  Chatelct,  ii.,  350. 


96  The  French  Revolution 

announcement  that  the  national  cockade  had  been 
publicly  insulted  and  trodden  under  foot. 

In  not  sanctioning  the  "Rights  of  Man"  and 
the  other  constitutional  articles  that  were  presented 
to  him,  the  King  was  fully  within  his  rights.  He 
had  not  even  gone  so  far  as  to  veto  them,  although 
a  suspensive  veto  had  just  been  accorded  him  by 
the  terms  of  the  constitution  itself.  His  whole 
crime  now  was  that  he  had  suggested  delay.  He 
had  proposed  postponing  the  adoption  of  the 
Rights  of  Man  until  the  laws  for  which  they  were 
to  serve  as  a  basis  had  been  put  into  operation. 
Yet  Robespierre  cried  out  in  the  National  Assem- 
bly: "The  King's  reply  is  destructive  not  merely 
of  any  constitution  but  even  of  the  national  right 
to  have  a  constitution. " 

The  reports  concerning  the  banquet  or  "orgy" 
at  Versailles  had  been  grossly  exaggerated.  Such 
attentions  to  a  visiting  regiment  had  been  in 
accordance  with  old-established  custom.  Among 
the  guests,  furthermore,  had  been  some  twenty 
officers  of  the  citizen-guard  of  the  town.  All  that 
actually  happened  was  that  enthusiastic  cheers 
were  given  for  the  King  and  Queen  when,  by  invi- 
tation, they  appeared  in  the  hall  and  made  the 
round  of  the  tables.  Some  one,  a  National  Guard 
doubtless,  had  suggested  playing  the  inevitable 
"Where  is  one  better  off  than  in  the  bosom  of  one's 
family?"  but  the  bandmaster  had  refused  and  had, 
instead,  struck  up  the  tune  of  Blondel's  song  in 
Gretry's  Richard  Lion-hearted:  "O  Richard,  oh 
my    king,    the    universe    abandons    thee!"     The 


Equality  97 

implication,  of  course,  was  that  Louis  X\'I  would 
find  here  adherents  as  faithful  as  Blondcl  had  been 
when  the  latter  ended  his  long  search  by  finding 
his  master  in  the  tower. 


./    ///-   y///^     ;•*»//.'•     fiAffi'-/.. 


Plate  45.     A  cartoon  showing  Clialjroud  endeavouring^  to  clear  the  Due 
d'0rl6ans  of  complicity  in  the  events  of  October  6,  1789. 

Never  in  history  did  the  playing  of  a  refrain  have 
such  consequences!  Not  only  was  the  episode 
made  the  most  of  at  the  time  but  it  was  treasured 
ijp  for  the  trials  for  treason  both  of  the  King  and 
of  the  Queen. 

The  assertion  that  the  tri-coloured  or  national 
cockade   was   trampled   under   foot   and   a   white 


98  The  French  Revolution 

cockade  substituted  for  it  has  often  been  made.  ^ 
The  man  who  presided  at  the  banquet,  De  Cane- 
caude,  asserted  positively  in  his  testimony  during 
the  Chatelet  investigation  that  nothing  of  the 
kind  took  place.  He  is  corroborated  by  another 
eye-witness.  The  whole  story  was  a  newspaper 
invention  and  has  been  traced  to  the  Courier  de 
Versailles.^ 

On  October  4th,  in  the  garden  of  the  Palais 
Royal,  a  woman  rose  and  exhorted  her  hearers  to 
follow  her  to  Versailles  and  demand  bread  from  the 
King  and  his  family.  She  gave  a  box  on  the  ear 
to  an  individual  who  made  light  of  her  exhorta- 
tions. But  that  same  day  the  details  of  the  expedi- 
tion must  have  been  arranged.  Whether  or  not 
the  gold  of  the  Due  d' Orleans  played  any  part  in 
the  matter  is  a  question  that  has  been  much 
debated.  We  have  a  cartoon-^  showing  his  official 
defender  at  the  Chatelet  investigation  vainly 
attempting  to  wash  him  clean;  and  when  public 
indignation  against  him  was  at  its  height  he  dis- 
appeared from  view,  accepting  a  mission  to  Eng- 
land. 

The  events  of  the  5th  and  6th  of  October  can 
be  described  only  briefly.'*  On  the  morning  of 
the  5th  a  bevy  of  women  entered  the  courtyard  of 
the  Hotel  de  Ville.  They  were  for  the  most  part 
young,  and  many  were  clad  in  white  as  for  a  fete. 

'  Carlyle  speaks  of  "fair  fingers  handing  white  Bourbon  cockades," 
of  "trampling  of  national  cockades,"  etc. 

^Procedure,  i.,  58.  J  Plate  45,  p.  97. 

■•  Morse  Stephens's  account  is  teeming  with  errors.  I  have  tried  to 
-"ompare  the  testimony  of  all  the  different  witnesses  before  the  Chatelet. 


EqiKility 


99 


Their  manner  was  playful,  their  intentions  appar- 
ently harmless.  They  peered  into  different  rooms 
as  if  from  curiosity.  But  their  numbers  kept 
increasing;  worse  elements  came  in;  there  was  soon 
a  regular  rabble  and  acts  of  violence  were  com- 


m}^\\Al^^ 


v/l<^0' 


Tt-:^ 


"^ri!^'*l'~*  ■ ""     "  "  yf^-ff^ "■-"■ 

Plate  46.     A  contcmp* irar\'  drawinj^  <jf  the  expediliuii  of  the  women  of  Paris 

to  Versailles  on  October  5,  17H9. 

mitted.  Some  mounted  the  belfry  and  sounded 
the  tocsin ;  others  liberated  some  persons  who  had 
been  arrested  and  were  awaiting  a  hearing;  others, 
still,  proceeded  to  sack  the  building. 

By  way  of  diversion  some  one  cried,  "To  Ver- 
sailles, to  Versailles!"  A  certain  Stanislas  Mail- 
lard,  a  conqueror  of  the  Bastile,  placed  himself  at 
their  head  and  they  marched. 


100  The  French  Revolution 

Both  the  printed  descriptions  and  an  artist's 
hasty  sketch  of  them  as  they  passed'  show  them 
to  have  been  armed  with  every  sort  of  weapon: 
pikes,  bayonets,  scythes,  axes,  and  pitchforks,  and 
even  brooms.  One  eye-witness  declares  that  they 
reminded  him  of  an  army  of  crusaders.^  Their 
cry  was  for  bread  and  for  the  King's  removal  from 
Versailles  to  Paris.  They  demanded  that  the 
Paris  National  Guards  march  with  them  and  exter- 
minate these  body-guards  and  these  officers  of  the 
regiment  of  Flanders  who  had  dared  to  trample 
under  foot  the  emblem  of  French  liberty,  the 
national  cockade.  The  guards  themselves  urged 
their  commander,  Lafayette,  to  let  them  go,  but 
he  held  them  in  leash  throughout  the  greater  part 
of  the  day. 

Very  quickly  the  women  covered  the  distance  to 
Versailles.  They  appeared  before  the  hall  of  the 
National  Assembly;  Stanislas  Maillard  made  an 
address  and  the  women  finally  invaded  the  hall, 
took  the  seats  of  the  deputies  and  even  that  of  the 
president.     There  was  disorder  and  drunkenness. 

A  band  of  the  women  had  gathered  in  front  of 
the  palace  railing,  and  those  within  the  building 
could  hear  coarse  and  cruel  threats  against  the 
Queen.  They  called  for  her  head,  for  her  heart. 
They  persuaded  the  regiment  of  Flanders  to  desert 
the  King.  They  held  a  sort  of  awful  revelry  in  the 
Place  d'Armes.  When  the  King  and  Queen  tried 
to  escape,  their  horses  were  seized  and  their  coaches 
led  back  to  the  stable. 

'  Plate  46,  p.  99.         » Testimony  of  Grandchamp,  Procedure,  i.,  108. 


Equality  loi 

As  night  came  on  the  scene  grew  bacchanaHan. 
Fires  were  Hghted  in  the  square,  for  a  chill  rain  had 
begun  to  fall.  One  saw  groups  cutting  up  and 
roasting  the  flesh  of  a  horse  that  had  fallen.  A 
deputation  which  the  President  of  the  National 
Assembly,  Alounier,  accompanied,  had  been  ad- 
mitted by  the  King  and  their  requests  granted. 
The  women  came  back  radiant  over  their  recep- 
tion, some  of  them  kissing  the  gardes  dii  corps  as 
they  passed. ' 

But  enthusiasm  for  the  graciousness  of  the  King 
was  not  what  the  crowd  wanted.  They  kicked, 
hit,  and  almost  strangled  the  fairest  of  the  emissar- 
ies declaring  that  she  had  been  bought  with  royal 
gold.  She  was  obliged  to  return  to  the  King  with 
the  other  women  and  obtain  the  concessions  from 
him  in  writing.  He  signed  a  paper  exculpating 
her  and  appeared  with  her  on  the  balcony. ■" 

Late  that  night,  Lafayette's  army  approached 
with  flaring  torches  and  beating  drums.  Was  he 
coming  as  friend  or  foe?  "What  does  your  army 
want?"  was  the  first  question  asked  him  as  he 
entered  the  Assembly.  "There  goes  Cromwell!" 
some  one  cried,  as  he  crossed  the  wil-dc-ha'uf 
on  his  way  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  King. 
"Sir,  Cromwell  would  not  have  come  alone,"  he 
answered. 

Lafayette  undertook  to  guard  the  palace,  but 
retired  al)out  dawn  having  seen  that  all  was  quiet. 
He  felt  that  he  had  earned  an  hour's  rest. 

The  blame  for  what  followed  should  fall  on  the 

•  Procedure,  ii.,  318.  'Testimony  of  I^juison,  Procidure,  ii.,  33  fT. 


102  The  French  Revolution 

Paris  National  Guards.  They  gave  no  alarm, 
offered  no  resistance,  when  armed  bands  filed  into 
the  Place  d'Armes  or  outer  courtyard/  There 
was  an  inner  court,  and  even  an  inmost  one,  each 
separated  by  a  strong  iron  railing.  The  crowd 
penetrated  into  both — no  one  knows  whether  the 
locks  were  forced  or  turned.^  Then  like  tigers  the 
mob  fell  on  the  sentinels.  Two  were  dragged  all 
the  way  to  the  Place  d'Armes  and  their  heads 
hewn  off  with  axes  and  carried  about  in  triumph 
for  hours. 

Never  were  fouler  passions  generated  than  by 
this  revolution.  As  the  bodies  lay  there,  gloating 
bystanders  dipped  their  hands  in  the  blood  and 
smeared  their  own  faces  with  it.  Women  jumped 
on  the  corpses,  kicked  them,  tore  off  shreds  of  the 
bloody  clothing.^ 

But  the  real  object  of  pursuit  was  the  Queen. 
The  King  from  his  window  saw  them  rush  for  her 
staircase  and  he  hurried  through  a  secret  passage 
to  her  rescue.  It  all  passed  with  the  utmost 
rapidity :  The  attack  on  the  gardes  du  corps  at  the 
head  of  the  staircase ;  their  retreat  into  the  great 
hall  of  guards  through  the  door  that  faces  the 
stairs;  their  rescue  of  one  of  their  companions; 
their  final  entrenchment  in  the  ceil-de-bceuf  after 
the  other  doors  had  been  broken  in. 

In  the  Queen's  apartments  there  was  less  resist- 
ance.    The  double  door  of  her  hall  of  guards  was 

'  Mounier,  Appel  au  Tribunal  de  VOpinion  Publique,  173. 
*  The  question  was  asked  at  the  time.  Procedure,  ii.,  6. 
3  Procedure,  ii.,  260. 


Equality  103 

on  the  right  of  the  httle  landing.  Through  it 
poured  a  cursing,  howling  mass  of  men  and  women 
clamouring  for  the  Queen's  head,  heart,  and  en- 
trails. '  One  of  the  guards  was  struck  down  and 
left  for  dead,  but  not  until  he  had  given  the  alarm 
to  the  ladies-in-waiting  who  hurried  Alarie  Antoi- 
nette, half-dressed,  through  the  four  little  rooms 
that  connect  with  the  ceil-de-hcviif.  A  closed  door 
almost  checked  the  flight,  but  it  was  finally  opened 
from  the  other  side.^ 

The  arrival  of  Lafayette  with  his  guards  quieted 
the  troubled  waters.  The  King  appeared  on  the 
balcony  and  asked  pardon  for  his  defenders.  There 
was  a  sudden  fraternisation  between  the  forces  that 
had  just  been  opposing  each  other.  Then  the 
Queen  was  told  that  the  people  wished  to  see  her 
on  the  balcony.  The  Marquis  de  Degoine,  who 
was  present,  relates  that  she  hesitated,  that  Lafay- 
ette urged  her,  that  she  answered  courageously, 
"it  may  be  to  execution,  but  I  will  go! "•^  Another 
eye-witness  •*  tells  us  that  as  she  stepped  out  on  to 
the  balcony,  heckling  her  children  by  the  hand,  there 
were  shouts  that  children  were  not  wanted.  She 
thrust  them  back  and  came  out  alone. 

It  had  all  been  such  an  ordeal  for  the  King  and 
Queen  of  France  that  it  is  a  wonder  Louis  XVI th 
did  not  abdicate  then  and  there.  Judging  from 
what  we  know  of  the  sentiments  of  the  people,  such 
a  course  would  probably  have  resulted  in  his  keep- 

'  Numcroas  witnesses  specify  these  cries. 

'  Prorrdurr,  i.,  172.  184.  243:  ii.,  368,  370.  37H  ff. 

i  Procedure,  i.,  330.  *  Dcrosnet.  Procfdure,  ii.,  79. 


104 


The  French  Revolution 


ing,  instead  of  losing,  his  throne.  But  he  chose 
to  suffer  every  possible  humiliation  rather  than 
relinquish  his  hereditary  rights. 

As  they  stood  there  on  the  balcony,  a  voice  called 
out,  ''The  King  to  Paris!"  The  cry  was  taken 
up  until  it  became  a  roar.     Wavering,  Louis  XVI 


,/'•'(:/"/'? /''V.?^-^Artr/^£'<^  a^^Zi  ;■  /'^ 


Plate  47.     A  contemporary  drawing  representing  the  women  of  Paris  return- 
ing from  Versailles  on  October  6,  1789. 

passed  back  and  forth  between  his  room  and  the 
balcony,  and  then  made  one  of  the  most  fateful  and 
fatal  decisions  of  his  life.  Leaning  far  out  over 
the  railing,  he  declared  that  he  would  go  to  Paris 
with  his  wife  and  children.  Lafayette  repeated 
the  announcement  in  a  louder  tone,  and,  in  order  to 
spread  the  news  more  quickly  it  was  written  on 
bits  of  paper  and  thrown  down  among  the  crowd. ' 
A  few  hours  later  the  cortege  started ;  the  heads  of 

'  Batiffol:  Les  journees  des  S  et  6  Octobre,  178Q. 


I/) 

w 

4) 

c 


o 


o 

O 

c 
o 

to 

c 

O. 

.S    o 

C  -o 

C    *-" 
M.S 

5  •« 

^  J 
y    - 

o   o 


0) 

X5 


o 

B 

c 


00 

y 


If^s 


io6  The  French  Revolution 

the  slain  guards,  stuck  on  poles,  had  gone  on 
before. 

To  the  descendant  of  St.  Louis  and  the  daughter 
of  Maria  Theresa,  that  procession  must  have 
seemed  like  some  old  grotesque  dance  of  death. 
It  would  have  seemed  still  more  so  could  they  have 
looked  into  the  near  future.  Until  the  Revolution 
began,  they  had  been  isolated  from  the  world  by 
their  great  body  of  noble  pensioners  and  their 
thousands  of  attendants.  Nine  hundred  body- 
guards had  always  been  at  hand  to  do  their  bidding. 
Now,  that  armour  was  pierced.  They  had  become 
the  plaything  of  the  mob.  Their  carriage  was 
accompanied  by  fishwives  and  street -walkers  for 
whom  the  affair  was  a  continuous  frolic.  These 
women  danced  by  the  roadside,  sat  on  the  cannon, 
tried  to  mount  the  horses  of  the  soldiers,  and 
screamed  with  delight  when  they  fell  back  into  the 
mud.  They  broke  boughs  from  the  trees;  they 
snatched  ribbons  from  the  head-dresses  of  those  of 
their  sex  whom  they  passed  on  the  road. 

We  have  an  artistic  production'  illustrating  all 
this,  and  Heaven  only  knows  whether  it  was  in- 
tended seriously  or  as  a  caricature.  It  is  called 
"The  triumphant  Return  of  the  French-Heroines 
from  Versailles  to  Paris."  "Heroines  of  liberty" 
was  the  name  by  which  these  women  were  to  be 
known  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  we  shall  see  them  still  glorified  in  1793. 

The  attitude  of  the  crowd  in  general  seems  to 
have   been  respectful,  but  people   jested   among 

'  Plate  47,  p.  104. 


Equality  107 

themselves.  Louis  was  the  baker  because  he  was 
bringing  with  him  bread  for  hungry  Paris.  Marie 
Antoinette  was  the  baker's  wife,  the  Dauphin  the 
baker's  boy. 

We  have  an  elaborate  representation'  of  the 
arrival  in  the  Place  Louis  Quinze — which  famous 
square  we  shall  soon  learn  to  know  under  quite 
other  names.  As  yet  the  great  equestrian  statue 
of  Louis  XV  stood  in  its  midst.  Round  this  the 
cortege  wound  on  its  way  to  the  Tuileries  palace. 
In  front  of  the  cannon  and  the  maidens,  one  sees 
what  may  have  been  intended  for  the  heads  of  the 
murdered  guards ;  then  follows  a  waggon  with  bags 
of  meal,  and  then  come  the  royal  coaches. 

We  have  a  most  curious  and  bloody  satire  on  the 
subject  of  these  murdered  guards'' — a  satire  which 
shows  the  pitiless  attitude  throughout  the  Revolu- 
tion towards  the  vanquished  and  slain.  One  can 
well  imagine  the  smiles  that  this  ingenious  produc- 
tion called  forth.  It  is  of  value  to  us  as  showing 
that  the  cartoonist  must  have  counted  on  a  suffici- 
ently large  public  to  make  his  enterprise  profitable 
Nor  could  he  have  feared  suppression. 

Bearing  their  own  heads  on  stakes,  the  two 
guards  appear  on  the  banks  of  the  Styx,  together 
with  the  unfortunate  governor  of  the  Bastile,  with 
Flesselles,  Foulon,  and  Berthier,  and  a  baker 
who  in  these  days  wiis  killed  by  mistake  because 
accused  of  hoarding  bread.  Such  mistakes  were 
small  matters,  for  it  was  easy  to  shift  the  odium 
on  to  the  aristocrats.     Charon  clubs  back  with  his 

■  Plate  48,  J).  105.  •  Plate  49,  \>.  inH. 


io8 


The  French  Revolution 


oar  all  the  headless  ones  save  the  baker,  the  "vic- 
tim of  aristocratic  fury";  him  he  ferries  across  to 
where  Galas,  once  persecuted  by  the  Church  and 
defended  by  Voltaire,  awaits  him  in  the  company 
of  other  martyrs. 


D<4xu/ury  FUveM&f  MertAi^r  Tov/on   e^  /&/•   lieu-x   Ca^Je^-   Ju  (W^r  ,/ui    on^  eif' .Oeccle,-  fui.- 


L 


autreJ  vi^e/Lmnt    /e-  r^c^eoir  a   /*i^4^e.  Sor-d^  ■ 


Plate  49.     A  cartoon  representing  Charon  refusing  to  ferry  over  any  of  the 
headless  ones  save  a  baker  who  had  been  killed  by  mistake. 


We  have  meanwhile  lost  sight — every  one  lost 
sight — of  the  National  Assembly  of  France.  From 
first  to  last  it  had  played  an  undignified  role — • 
allowing  the  women  to  enter  its  precincts  and 
conduct  themselves  as  though  they  were  in  a  cafe 
chantant;  taking  no  apparent  interest  in  what  was 
going  on  at  the  palace ;  allowing  so  vital  a  matter  as 


Plate  50.     A  symbolical  prtxluction  showing  Riasun  in  tlu-  act  of 
explaining  the  new  division.s  of  France  while  Envy  and 
Hatred  seek  to  ham|)er  lur. 
IU9 


no  The  French  Revolution 

that  of  the  King's  change  of  residence,  which  would 
necessarily  affect  them  deeply,  to  be  decided  by  a 
lawless  mob. 

There  were  those  who  felt  all  this  keenly.  The 
president  of  the  Assembly,  Mounier,  fled  from 
France  and  took  refuge  in  Geneva.  On  one  pre- 
text or  another  some  two  hundred  members  left 
Versailles.  ^  We  have  the  defiance  that  one  of  them 
hurled  at  those  who  remained": 

Neither  this  guilty  town  nor  this  still  guiltier  Assembly 
deserve  that  I  justify  myself.  I  had  not  strength  any 
longer  to  endure  the  horror  inspired  by  this  blood,  these 
heads,  this  queen  all  but  butchered ;  this  king  led  as  a  slave 
and  made  to  enter  Paris  in  the  midst  of  his  assassins  and 
behind  the  heads  of  his  unfortunate  guards ;  these  perfidious 
janissaries,  these  murderers,  these  cannibal  women,  this 
cry  of  "all  bishops  to  the  lantern ! "  as  the  King  was  entering 
Paris  with  his  two  episcopal  councillors  in  his  coach;  the 
shot  I  saw  fired  at  one  of  the  Queen's  carriages;  Monsieur 
Bailly  calling  this  a  great  day;  the  Assembly  declaring 
coldly  that  morning  that  it  was  beneath  its  dignity  to  go 
and  protect  the  King;  Monsieur  Mirabeau  telling  this  same 
Assembly  with  impunity  that  the  ship  of  state  would  not 
only  not  be  impeded  in  its  course  but  would  hasten  towards 
regeneration  more  rapidly  than  ever;  Monsieur  Barnave 
joining  with  him  in  a  laugh  when  waves  of  blood  were 
lapping  round  us ;  virtuous  Moimier  escaping  as  by  a  mira- 
cle from  the  twenty  assassins  who  tried  to  add  his  head  to 
their  trophies:  now  you  know  my  reasons  for  swearing 
never  again  to  set  foot  in  this  cave  of  anthropophagi  where 
I  could  no  longer  find  strength  to  raise  my  voice,  where  I 
had  raised  it  vainly  for  six  weeks,  I,  Mounier,  and  all 
honest  folk. 

'  Stance  of  Oct.  9,  Rev.  de  Paris,  No.  xiv. 

» Appendix  to  Bailly's  Memoirs,  iii.,  435.     It  was  Lally-ToIIendal. 


Equality  in 

The  Assembly  voted  to  follow  the  King  to  Paris 
where  the  City  Council  promised  it  absolute  liberty. 
It  held  its  first  sessions  in  the  Archicpiscopal 
Palace  and  then  moved  to  the  Manege  or  riding- 
school  near  the  Tuileries.  Here  in  the  course  of 
the  next  five  months  it  passed  a  number  of  epoch- 
making  decrees  all  tending  still  further  to  weaken 
the  authority  of  the  King. 

The  old  provinces  of  France,  products  of  the 
feudal  system,  were  divided  up  into  eighty- three 
departments;  the  towns  became  self-governing 
communes.'  The  importance  of  this  will  be 
rcahsed  when  one  learns  that  these  changes  left 
far  more  than  a  million  offices  of  one  kind  or 
another  to  be  filled,  and  that  the  King  no  longer 
had  any  voice  in  the  matter. 

We  have  a  symbolical  representation''  in  which 
Reason,  aided  by  the  genius  of  Geography,  is 
explaining  the  new  divisions.  She  is  trampling 
under  foot  the  old  title-deeds  which  horrible  Pride 
vainly  tries  to  snatch  away.  Citizens  from  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom  embrace  mutually ;  a  foreigner 
asks  permission  to  marry  a  Frenchwoman  and 
thus  become  a  citizen.  Behind  Reason  is 
Law  whose  votaries  arc  swearing  to  observe 
equality. 

France  has  adopted  Equality,  now,  and  has 
placed  her  quite  on  a  level  with  Liberty.  In  an 
engraving  of  the  time^  we  see  them  both  under  the 
outstretched  arms  of  the  Genius  of  the  Fatherland. 

•  Decrees  of  Nov.  ii  and  12,  1789;  also  Jan.  15  and  Feb.  26,  1790. 
»  Plate  50,  p.  i«k;.  *  Plate  51,  i).  i  12. 


112 


The  French  Revolution 


Equality  has  the  crude  carpenter's  level  of  the 
day,  while  Liberty  has  the  usual  pike  and  cap. 

It  is  unquestionable  that  neither  Liberty  nor 
Equality  would  have  prevailed  as  they  did  but 


Plate  51.     A  symbolical  production  showing  the  Genius  of  France  adopting 

Liberty  and  Equality. 

for  the  aid  of  an  organisation,  daily  becoming  more 
powerful,  which  soon  grasped  with  its  tentacles 
all  the  thousands  of  new  communes.  The  Jacobin 
Club  was  to  the  Revolution  what  the  Jesuit  Order 
had  been  to  the  Roman  Catholic  reaction  of  the 
1 6th  century.  The  monastery  of  the  Rue  St. 
Honore  became  the  centre  of  a  regular  network  of 
supervision  and  control.  We  have  a  representa- 
tion of  it'  that  belongs  to  a  later  period  of  the 

'Plate  52,  p.  113. 


Hquality 


113 


Revolution  but  that  gives  us  a  clear  idea  of  its 
general  appearance.  The  facade  was  adorned  with 
such  emblems  and  inscriptions  as  befitted  the  main 
citadel  of  libertv. 


Plate  52.     A  Dutch  engraving  showing  the  Hall  of  the  Jacobin  Club  in  Paris. 

The  chief  virtue  that  the  Jacobins  ascribed  to 
themselves  was  vigilance,  and  a  great  open  eye 
became  their  symbol.  It  floated  on  their  banners ; 
we  even  see  it  on  the  cap  of  the  typical  Jacobin' 
drawn  by  a  patriotic  artist.  In  his  hand  is  the 
bell  with  which  he  is  to  be  ever  reatly  to  sound  the 
alarm.     Exercising  inquisitorial  power  over  men's 

•  naU.-53.  ]>.  114- 

8 


114 


The  French  Revolution 


opinions,  supervising  the  conduct  of  those  in  au- 
thority, and  controlHng  elections  by  all  manner 


JACOBIN 

Plate  53.     A  representation  of  the  typical  Jacobin.     One 
sees  the  eye  of  vigilance  on  his  cap. 

of  intimidation  and  bribery:  those  were  the  chief 
activities     of    the    omnipresent     Jacobins.       On 


JtJtJ  ft>/ft  uH  fcn^jr^i  Mfiirt€ 


^4'mme  IfyJ'frr    de  J'*.Ant»int, 


V. 


J*lrnf   Jiitimriij  jHjauri  mit   r*U'        \AfMJ  Jt  ,/ui/ ai^ I OwJXin  mature  c»»%»-u/i/Ctuc*v. 


Plate  54.     A  cartoon  showing  the  clrrgy  despoilctl  of  its  jMisscssiuns.     t^ncc 

it  was  fat,  now  it  is  lean. 


115 


ii6 


The  French  Revolution 


innumerable  occasions,  the  measures  that  were 
passed  in  the  National  Assembly  had  been  con- 
cocted or  hatched  out  at  a  session  of  the  famous  club. 


r>: 


Plate  55.     A  caricature  called  "The  Overthrow"  relating  to  the 
confiscation  of  the  estates  of  the  clergy. 

A  measure  quite  as  radical  as  the  division  of 
France  into  departments  was  the  confiscation  of 
all  the  landed  property  of  the  Church,  amounting 
to  nearly  one  third  of  all  French  territory.  Already 
in  September,  1789,  the  clergy  had  been  invited 
to  carry  to  the  mint  all  silver  not  essential  to  the 


Equality 


117 


carrying  on  of  Divine  Service'  After  that  had 
come  the  demand  for  a  voluntary  (?)  contribution, 
and  finally,  on  October  loth,  Talleyrand,  bishop  of 
Autun,  began  the  great  onslaught  on  his  own  order: 
' '  There   is   one   immense   resource   which   can   be 


Plate  56.     A  caricature  called  "the  present  time,"  showing  the  clergy  reiiuccd 
to  a  skeleton  and  standing  humbly  hefon.'  the  other  two  estates. 

reconciled  with  the  rigid  respect  for  property;  it 
consists  in  the  estates  of  the  clergy.'"'  He  reck- 
oned the  sum  that  would  accrue  from  their  sale  at 
two  billion  one  hundred  million  francs.  Two 
days  later,  Mirabeau  moved  that  these  estates  be 
declared  the  property  of  the  nation,  fair  provision 
being  made  for  the  clergy.  This  opened  up,  as 
may  be  imagined,  a  heated  discussion  as  to  what 

'  Duvergier,  Collection  complite,  i.,  44. 
'  Drhati  et  Dccrels,  Oct.  10  fT. 


ii8 


The  French  Revolution 


right  the  National  Assembly  had  to  take  such 
action  and  provoked  the  bitterest  attacks  from  the 
clergy.  The  debates  lasted  from  October  12th 
to  November  2d,  and  the  motion  was  finally  passed 
by  568  to  346  votes.     The  contention  was  that  the 


\ 


Plate  57.     A  caricature  against  the  clergy  entitled  "  The 
patriotic  Reducer  of  Flesh  " 

clergy  were  tenants,  not  owners  of  the  property, 
and  that  furthermore,  by  recent  decrees  of 
the  Assembly,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  an 
order  of  the  clergy  in  which  the  ownership  could  be 
vested. 

The  glee  of  the  radicals  knew  no  bounds.  Never 
were  the  cartoonists  more  active,  more  full  of 
ideas.  One  such  satire'  showing  the  same  man 
before  and  after,  bears  the  inscription:  "Once  I 

'Plate  54,  p.  115. 


Equality  119 

was  a  big  fat  monk,  as  full  up  to  the  neck  with  food 
as  St.  Anthony's  pig;  but  now  I  am  as  thin  as  a 
cuckoo."  In  a  production  labelled  "The  Over- 
throw,'" one  of  the  clergy  is  toppling  over  back- 
wards, while  his  tomienters  pursue  him  with 
unseemly  gestures  implying  "I  told  you  so."  In 
another  entitled  "Here  the  first  shall  be  last," ^ 
we  have  the  third  estate  commanding  the  other 
two.  The  noble  stands  meekly  at  attention,  while 
the  clergy  is  an  actual  skeleton  resting  his  hands 
on  a  spade. 

Grotesque  in  the  extreme  is  the  cartoon  en- 
titled "The  patriotic  Reducer  of  Flesh."-*  A  great 
fat  priest  is  held  fast,  but  is  told  "Patience,  sir,  your 
turn  will  come  next."  In  a  press  formed  of  two 
boards  another  priest  is  being  flattened  and  is  dis- 
gorging gold  from  his  mouth;  while  others  still, 
thin  and  making  gestures  of  absolute  despair,  are 
disappearing  in  the  distance. 

It  would  lead  us  too  far  to  deal  with  the  manner 
of  disposing  of  these  confiscated  estates  and  how 
they  became  the  basis  or  guarantee  for  the  as- 
signats  or  new  paper  money  of  France.  The  first 
emission  of  assignats,  in  the  spring  of  1 790,  was  for 
400,000,000  francs.  The  clergy  offered  to  raise 
that  amount  if  only  they  might  retain  their  title 
to  the  lands.  This  was  refused  and  the  bitterness 
increased.  A  member  of  the  clergy  after  the  turn- 
ing down  of  a  motion  at  least  to  decree  that  the 
"Catholic,  Apostolic,  and  Roman  religion"  was  the 
state  religion,    solemnly    j)rnnounce(l    the  Divine 

•  Plate  55.  P    I  "'  '  I'l-'l^-  5^.  I>-  H7.  ^  I'lati-  57.  p.  118. 


120  The  French  Revolution 

malediction  over  the  whole  National  Assembly.' 
Another  clerical  firebrand,  D'Epresmesnil,  re- 
minded the  Assembly  of  the  crucifixion  of  Christ. 
To  still  another,  who  cited  a  compact  made  by 
Louis  XIV  with  his  clergy,  Mirabeau  made  a 
stinging  retort:  if  historical  reminiscences  were  in 
order,  he  begged  to  remind  him  that  from  the  very 
platform  where  he  was  standing  he  could  see  the 
spot  where  benighted  ecclesiastics  caused  a  French 
king  to  give  the  signal  for  the  St.  Bartholomew 
massacre !  ^ 

That  crime  of  the  French  monarchy  was  in 
every  one's  mind  at  this  period.  A  play  called 
Charles  IX  was  being  given  at  the  Comedie  Fran- 
gaise.  It  threw  all  the  blame  for  St.  Bartholomew 
on  the  intriguing  Cardinal  de  Lorraine. 

"The  performance  of  this  tragedy,"  writes  a  contem- 
porary, ^  "brought  a  fatal  change  into  the  character  of  the 
Parisian  people.  They  came  forth  drunken  with  vengeance 
and  tormented  with  a  thirst  for  blood.  When,  at  the  end 
of  the  fourth  act,  a  tolling  bell  announces  the  moment  of 
the  massacre,  one  heard  them  groan  dismally  or  else  cry  out 
furiously:  "Silence!  Silence!"  as  though  they  feared  that 
the  sound  of  the  death-bell  would  not  penetrate  deeply 
enough  into  their  hearts  and  they  thus  lose  some  of  the 
sensations  of  hatred  it  was  intended  to  encourage." 

'  Journal  de  Paris,  Apr.  14,  1790. 
^  Journal  de  Paris;  also  in  Ferrieres. 
3  Ferrieres,  Memoires,  i.,  351. 


CHAPTER  IV 


FRATERNITY 


AN  event  happened  on  Christmas  Day,  1789, 
that  placed  Louis  XVI  in  an  embarrassing 
position.  An  apparent  plot  to  carry  him 
off,  to  murder  Bailly,  Lafayette,  and  Necker,  and 
reduce  Paris  to  submission  by  famine,  was  dis- 
covered, and  the  chief  conspirator,  the  Marquis  de 
Favras,  was  arrested.  Favras  was  then  tried,  con- 
victed, condemned  to  death,  and  executed.  A 
cartoon '  shows  us  what  a  warm  reception  he  met 
with  in  Hades  from  DeLaunay,  Flesselles,  Foulon, 
and  Berthier,  not  to  speak  of  Cerberus  and  a 
poisoner  named  Desrues. 

Louis  XVI  was  advised  to  give  some  proof  of 
his  patriotic  sentiments,  and  accordingly,  on  Febru- 
ary 4,  1790,  appeared  in  the  Assembly  without 
pomp  or  ceremony  and  ended  a  conciliatory  dis- 
course by  uttering  a  vow  to  uphold  constitutional 
liberty  and  to  sec  that  his  son  was  brought  up  in 
sympathy  with  the  new  order  of  things. ■  Tlie 
whole  Assembly  then  took  the  civic  oath — ^thcoath 
of  fidelity  to  the  nation,  the  law,  and  the  King. 
Such  a  chorus  of  "I  swear  it's"  had  never  been 

•  Plate  58,  p.  123.  •  Journal  de  Paris,  Fcl).  4th,  Feb.  61I1. 

131 


122  The  French  Revolution 

heard  in  France.  Not  only  did  the  deputies  take 
the  oath,  but  all  the  spectators,  and,  later,  all  the 
National  Guards. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  strangest  secret 
alliance  was  concluded — ^one  between  Mirabeau, 
whose  influence  in  the  National  Assembly  was  so 
great  that  he  said  himself:  "When  I  shake  my 
terrifying  mane  no  one  dares  to  interrupt,"'  and 
the  King  and  Queen.  Louis  XVI  would  not  believe 
in  Mirabeau' s  sincerity  until  the  latter  had  com- 
mitted himself  in  writing.^  Yet  Mirabeau  was  no 
ordinary  traitor.  He  called  himself  a  constitu- 
tional royalist.  He  believed  that  he  could  be  true 
to  both  sides.  He  promised  the  King  "a  loyalty, 
zeal,  activity,  energy,  and  courage  of  which  no  one 
can  have  the  least  conception."  Unfortunately 
he  accepted  pay,  and  very  high  pay,  for  these  loyal 
services:  he  was  to  have  a  million  francs  on  the 
dispersal  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  should  he 
have  lived  up  to  all  his  promises,  while  the  King, 
in  addition,  was  to  expend  some  200,000  francs  in 
paying  Mirabeau's  debts.  He  was  to  have  a  sal- 
ary, too,  of  6000  francs  a  month.  Is  it  strange  that 
the  King  and  Queen  never  looked  on  Mirabeau  in 
any  other  light  than  a  paid  agent?  They  so 
doubted  his  honesty  that  they  would  not  trust  to 
him  the  sums  for  the  payment  of  his  creditors. 
Yet  Mirabeau  seems  to  have  served  the  court  as 
well  as  circumstances  permitted. 

The  stream  was  too  strong  to  be  held  back. 
One  by  one  the  King's  prerogatives  were  voted 

'  Stern,  ii.,  133.  ^Rtorn,  ii.,  140. 


Plalr  .S""-     -^       :       -1  n  ])ri-.i-nlinK  thf  Maniui    '1'    l-.ivras 

being  received  in  Hades  by  Koulun,  Bcrtliicr,  and 

other  headless  ones. 


123 


124  The  French  Revolution 

away  by  the  National  Assembly.  Even  the  royal 
title  was  no  longer  ' '  Louis  by  the  grace  of  God  King 
of  France  and  of  Navarre, "  but  plain  ''Louis,  King 
of  the  French,"  and  an  attempt  had  even  been  made 
to  add  "by  consent  of  the  nation."'  All  persons 
imprisoned  under  lettres  de  cachet  had  been  de- 
clared at  liberty;  the  lists  of  the  King's  pensioners, 
with  the  amounts  accorded,  had  been  published. 
Mirabeau  had  endeavoured  to  have  the  King 
retain  his  right  to  declare  war  or  to  make  peace, 
but  in  vain.  He  had  carried  his  efforts  so  far  that 
he  had  been  called  a  traitor  and  reminded  of  the 
Tarpeian  rock,  but  had  finally  saved  appearances. 
On  November  5th  the  natural  supporters  of  the 
King,  the  nobles  and  the  clergy,  had  been  pro- 
nounced equal  before  the  law  with  the  third 
estate. 

Constitutionalism  was  making  very  rapid 
strides.  The  first  steps  had  been  taken  towards 
introducing  trial  by  jury,  towards  establishing  one 
general  system  of  weights  and  measures;  educa- 
tional problems  were  under  discussion — ^even  such  a 
matter  as  self-government  in  schools.  The  city  of 
Paris  decided  to  put  this  latter  plan  into  execution.^ 

France  had  gone  wild  in  turn  over  Liberty,  as 
typified  by  the  storming  of  the  Bastile,  and  Equal- 
ity, as  furthered  by  the  decrees  of  August  4th  and 
the  subsequent  legislation.  There  was  now  to  be 
a  new  object  for  patriotic  enthusiasm — ^Fraternity. 
France  herself  was  to  encourage  her  children  to 

^Revolutions  de  Paris,  Oct.  8th. 
'Ibid.,  Ixi.  (Sept.  4-11,  1790). 


Fraternity 


125 


clasp  hands.     In  one  of  our  cartoons  we  find  her 
actually  fulfilling  this  benign  duty.' 


Plate  59.     A  symbolical  representation  of  France  making  her 
children  clasp  hands  in  token  of  fraternity. 

From  various  districts  there  had  come  news  of  so- 
called  f6tes  of  federation  to  celebrate  the  ])r()therly 
feeling  between  the  old  soldiers  of  the  line  and  the 
new  National  Guards.     It  was  considered  highly 

'  Plate  59. 


126  The  French  Revolution 

desirable  that  France  should  learn  the  number  of 
her  true  defenders.  There  were  patriotic  assem- 
blages in  which  the  warriors  publicly  swore  to 
defend  unto  death  the  new  constitution  of  the 
kingdom  and  to  perish  together  rather  than  re- 
nounce liberty  for  a  single  instant.  There  were 
scenes  of  supreme  exaltation/  with  endless  cheering, 
waving  of  hats  on  the  points  of  bayonets,  fraternal 
embraces.  There  were  joyous  dances  in  which  all 
differences  of  rank  and  station  were  forgotten. 
There  were  rhapsodies  like  this:  "Barbarous 
ages !  Ages  of  fanaticism !  Ages  of  slavery :  How 
hideous  you  seem  when  compared  to  our  own 
beautiful  days!  .  .  .  We  are  born  anew  to  glory 
and  have  recovered  all  our  dignity ! ' ' 

In  Paris,  on  June  5th,  a  deputation  from  the 
municipality  submitted  to  the  National  Assembly 
what  the  Journal  de  Paris  calls  ' '  one  of  the  happiest 
and  most  brilliant  ideas  inspired  by  patriotism  since 
the  Revolution  began  to  elevate  and  fecundate 
men's  minds."  This  was,  no  longer  to  have  sep- 
arate fetes  of  federation  in  the  provinces,  but 
rather  one  grand  general  fete  in  the  capital  under 
the  eyes  of  the  monarch  and  the  legislators.^ 
From  every  section  of  France  were  to  come  dele- 
gates of  the  National  Guards  and  of  the  troops  of 
the  line.  As  the  orator  of  the  deputation  unfolded 
his  plan,  he  grew  more  and  more  fervid: 

Scarcely  ten  months  have  elapsed  since  the  memorable 
epoch  when,  from  the  walls  of  the  conquered  Bastile,  arose 

'  Such  a  fgte  is  described  in  La  Revolution  Frangaise,  i.,  15. 
'  Journal  de  Paris,  June  7,  1790- 


Fraternity  127 

a  sudden  cry  of  "Frenchmen,  we  are  free!"  On  the  corre- 
sponding day  let  there  be  heard  this  still  more  touching  cry 
of  "Frenchmen,  we  are  brothers!"  .  .  .  How  bright  will 
be  the  day  of  the  alliance  of  the  French!  A  people  of 
brothers,  an  empire's  regenerators,  a  citizen  king,  all  rally- 
ing round  the  altar  of  the  fatherland  to  take  one  common 
oath — what  a  new  and  imposing  spectacle  for  the  nations!' 

The  spark  thus  communicated  soon  became  a 
roaring  fiame.  This  Revolution  which  was  to 
bring  forth  so  many  scenes  of  the  bloodiest  cruelty 
and  injustice  was  also  to  become  memorable  for 
scenes  of  popular  rejoicing  which  have  scarcely 
been  equalled  in  any  other  land  or  at  any  other 
period.  It  is  a  side  of  the  movement  which  we,  in 
our  present  study,  can  least  of  all  afford  to  ignore. 
It  was  chiefly  in  symbolism  that  all  this  enthusiasm 
found  vent. 

"The  trumpet,"  declared  Anacharsis  Cloots  on 
June  19th,"  has  sounded  the  resurrection  of  the 
French;  a  joyful  chorus  twenty -five  millions  strong 
has  awakened  all  the  peoples  long  buried  in  slavery. ' ' 
He  begged  to  be  allowed  to  bring  a  band  of  for- 
eigners to  rally  round  a  liberty  pole  and  appear  at 
the  F^te  of  Federation,  not  as  slaves  in  a  Roman 
triumph,  but  as  men  freed  of  their  chains  by 
France's  wise  laws.  Tlie  petition  was  granted 
and,  when  doing  so,  the  president  of  the  Assembly 
took  occasion  to  give  what  he  considered  whole- 
some advice  to  the  respective  rulers  of  Cloots's 
foreigners.  Cloots  himself  became  known  as  the 
"orator  of  the  human  race." 

•  Buchcz  ct  Roux,  vi.,  275.  »  Dfhats  ft  Dfcrets,  June  iQth. 


128  The  French  Revolution 

Alexander  von  Lameth,  in  this  same  session, 
moved  that  as  the  French  were  no  longer  slaves 
they  should  no  longer  have  their  sight  offended  by 
"monuments  recalling  to  the  eye  the  servitude  of 
our  fathers."  This  was  amended  to  read  that  all 
inscriptions,  all  attributes,  and  all  emblems  in 
connection  with  such  monuments  should  be  effaced 
in  favour  of  simple  recitals  of  fine  actions.  In 
especial  it  was  voted  that  the  four  chained  figures 
under  the  statue  of  Louis  XIV  in  the  Place  des 
Victoires  should  be  removed  before  the  Fete  of 
Federation.' 

It  was  then  moved  by  Lambel  and  seconded  by 
Lafayette  and  Noailles^  that  hereditary  nobility 
be  forever  abolished  in  France;  that  the  titles 
prince,  marquis,  baron,  excellency,  highness,  emin- 
ence and  the  like  be  no  longer  conferred  on  any 
one  whatsoever ;  that  no  one  might  display  armor- 
ial bearings  or  clothe  his  servants  in  livery.  In 
short,  "incense  is  to  be  offered  to  no  one  but  is 
only  to  be  burned  in  temples  of  worship  to  honour 
the  Divinity." 

Yet  it  was  something  very  like  incense  that  the 
National  Assembly  in  this  same  session  of  June 
19th  accorded  to  the  "Conquerors  of  the  Bastile" 
for  having  "flung  off  the  yoke  of  slavery  and  made 
their  country  free."  Each  was  to  be  given  the 
complete  uniform  and  equipment  of  a  National 
Guard.  On  the  sleeve  or  lapel  of  each  coat  was 
to  be  a  mural  crown,  on  the  barrel  of  each  gun  a 
dedication.     The  Conquerors  were  to  be  accorded 

■  Revolutions  de  Paris,  No.  51.  *  lb. 


s. 

J^ 


u 


a 
E 

U 

x: 

c 
o 

c 
o 


u 
U. 

o 

a 
x: 


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c 
a 


5 

i 


129 


130  The  French  Revolution 

an    honourable    and    conspicuous    place    in    the 
celebration  of  July  14th.  ^ 

The  Assembly  soon  found,  indeed,  that  it  had 
jumped  into  a  hornet's  nest;  that  jealousies  were 
rampant  between  the  citizens  and  the  military  as 
to  who  had  played  the  more  important  role  on  the 
great  day ;  that  hundreds  claimed  to  be  Conquerors 
who  had  not  been  near  the  spot ;  that  the  pecuni- 
ary gratifications  the  prospect  of  which  was  held 
out  in  this  same  decree  were  likely  to  amount  to 
considerable  sums.  The  various  disputes  threat- 
ened to  end  in  violence  and  bloodshed  when 
the  Conquerors  themselves  voted  to  refuse  the 
proffered  honours. 

The  preparations  for  the  Fete  were  made  on  an 
enormous  scale.  It  was  solemnly  declared  by  the 
committee  of  arrangements  that  as  the  spectacle 
of  a  whole  nation  renewing  its  vows  of  mutual 
fraternity  was  worthy  of  being  witnessed  by  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  universe,  the  first  thing  to  do 
was  to  choose  a  stage  of  vast  dimensions.^  The 
Champ  de  Mars  or  great  parade-ground,  with  its 
natural  amphitheatre  and  its  surrounding  trees, 
seemed  to  offer  the  most  advantages.  The  artists 
of  Paris  proffered  their  assistance  and  threw  them- 
selves enthusiastically  into  the  work.  It  was  no 
light  task.  There  was  a  prejudice  against  the  use 
of  wood  in  making  tiers  of  benches,  therefore  it  was 
determined  to  throw  up  a  great  bank  of  earth 
which  should  provide  seats  for  160,000  people. 
There  was  to  be  standing-room  for  100,000  more; 

'  Duvergier,  i.,  218.  ^  Journal  de  Paris,  July  8th. 


Plate  ()i.     A  fa<  simile-  of  a  jxirtioii  of  tin-  friczf  on  tljt-  great  arch 
at  tlif  Ft  ti-  of  Kcdurution. 
•31 


132  The  French  Revolution 

and  40,000  delegates  from  the  provinces  were 
to  take  part  in  the  evolutions  in  the  centre. 
There  was  to  be  an  altar  to  the  Fatherland  of 
magnificent  proportions,  with  huge  flights  of  steps 
leading  up  to  it  on  all  four  sides.  The  entrance  to 
the  field  was  to  be  through  a  great  triumphal  arch 
adorned  with  patriotic  scenes,  emblems,  and  in- 
scriptions. We  have  many  representations  of  the 
scene  during  the  celebration.  The  one  given  here' 
was  drawn  by  Gentot  on  the  spot  and  gives  one  a 
very  clear  view  of  the  whole.  We  have  the  details, 
too, — doubtless  the  artist's  own  drawings — of  the 
frieze  and  inscriptions  on  the  triumphal  arch.^ 
Bas-reliefs  are  to  show  every  kind  of  act  of  sacrifice 
and  devotion  and  there  are  to  be  mottoes  of  a 
patriotic  nature:  "Petty  tyrants,  you  who  op- 
pressed us  under  a  hundred  different  names,  we  fear 
you  no  longer!"  "The  only  powerful  king  is  the 
king  of  a  free  people ! "  "  The  rights  of  man  were 
not  appreciated,  they  have  been  revived  for  all 
humanity."  "You  longed  for  liberty,  you  are 
now  its  possessor:  show  that  you  are  worthy  to 
retain  it." 

The  preparations  for  the  Fete  fostered  the  spirit 
of  fraternity  in  a  truly  remarkable  manner.  There 
came  a  sudden  fear  lest  with  all  the  thousands  of 
hired  labourers  the  whole  would  not  be  completed 
in  time.  Then,  indeed,  one  saw  extraordinary 
sights!  There  was  a  sudden  outpouring  of  all 
patriotic  Paris.  Old  and  young,  rich  and  poor, 
even  the  halt  and  the  blind  hurried  to  the  spot  and 

•  Plate  60,  p.  129.  »  Plate  61,  p.  131. 


/:r/::\7:Mf:.\j\  nr  -  ,  -7  //  /  /-  /  /  -q o 


\ 


( /tl/JtU^.I     '   './     f    //•/////' 


■',  i//\' 


Plate  62.     A  ajntcmporary  illustration  showing  the  people  of 

Paris  at  work  transforniinK  the  Champ  ilc  Mars  in 

preparation  for  the  F6te. 


133 


134 


The  French  Revolution 


began  picking  and  delving.  Gaily  dressed  women 
with  waving  feathers  in  their  hats  and  with  the 
blush  of  rouge  still  on  their  cheeks  wielded  pick- 
axes or  carried  earth  or  pushed  wheelbarrows 
and  carts.  Side  by  side  with  them  worked  abbes 
and  curates.     We  can  see  them  toiling  thus  in  two 


Plate  63.     Another  view  of  the  people  of  Paris  at  work  on  the  Champ  de 

Mars. 


of  our  illustrations/'^  In  another,^  purely  imag- 
inary of  course,  the  King  himself  has  taken  a  hand. 
The  Revolutions  de  Paris,  with  some  exaggera- 
tion, speaks  of  300,000  persons  as  taking  part  in 
these  labours.  All  greeted  each  other,  we  are  told, 
and  talked  together.  The  young  people  danced, 
sang,  waved  branches  of  trees,  and  otherwise  dis- 
ported themselves  in  the  neighbourhood.     That 


'  Plate  62,  p.  133. 


'  Plate  63,  p.  above.  J  Plate  64,  p.  135. 


Plate  64.     A  fanciful  a-pa-sfntation  of  tlu-  KIpr  ai  ling  in  llic 
work  of  transforming  the  Champ  dc  Mars. 


135 


136  The  French  Revolution 

they  were  all  of  great  assistance  in  furthering  the 
work  cannot  be  maintained.  On  July  8th  the 
municipal  commissioners,  by  placard,  were  ungal- 
lant  enough  to  beg  that  the  citizens  kindly  remain 
at  home.  The  request  was  not  heeded,  so  far  as 
we  know. 

When  the  day's  work  or  play  was  done,  a  great 
cortege  formed,  the  men  giving  the  women  their 
arms.  They  marched  through  the  streets  of  Paris 
to  wave  after  wave  of  applause.  Each  day  was  a 
veritable  civic  fete  in  itself,  and  the  air  was  rent 
with  cries  of  " Long  live  the  nation!",  "Long  live 
liberty ! " ' 

A  vital  question  for  a  time  was  what  part  should 
be  conceded  to  the  King  in  the  approaching  feast 
to  Fraternity.  It  is  curious  to  note  the  intense 
fear  of  conceding  to  him  too  much,  of  yielding 
some  jot  or  tittle  of  the  newly  attained  Liberty  and 
Equality.  Was  he  already  head  and  chief  of  the 
Federation  by  virtue  of  his  office?  If  not,  should 
he  be  appointed  by  the  nation  to  that  position? 
There  was  a  grave  question  of  precedence  too: 
Should  the  King  sit  on  the  right  of  the  president 
of  the  National  Assembly  or  should  the  president 
sit  on  the  King's  right?  And  what  form  of  oath 
should  Louis  take,  and  in  what  capacity?  As  king 
of  the  French,  or  as  first  citizen?  It  was  objected 
at  the  time  that  such  discussions  smacked  too 
much  of  the  etiquette,  the  haughty  feebleness,  the 
vain  jealousies  of  courts.  But  the  Journal  de 
Paris'"    invoked    the    example    of    antiquity    and 

'  Revolutions  de  Paris,  July  3d-ioth.  '  July  lo,  1790. 


Plate  65.     A  caricalurc  of  MiraU-au's  brother  calkil  "  Barrel 
Miralxrau"  l»ccause  of  his  love  of  drink. 

1.^7 


138  The  French  Revolution 

declared  that  magnificent  spectacles  displayed  to 
men  should  serve  to  engrave  forever  on  the  inmost 
surface  of  their  souls  the  ineffaceable  impression  of 
their  duty  to  their  country;  and  that,  therefore,  it 
was  right  to  attach  high  importance  to  the  forms 
of  the  solemnities.  The  disputes  finally  ended 
with  ingenious  compromises.  The  King  was  to  be 
invited  to  be  nominal  head  and  commander  of  the 
troops  sent  as  delegates  by  the  different  depart- 
ments, but  was  to  appoint  substitutes.  He  was  to 
sit  on  the  left  of  the  president,  which  might  be 
equally  well  construed  to  mean  that  he,  the  King, 
was  the  chief  personage  and  had  accorded  the 
position  on  his  right  to  the  president.  Mirabeau's 
brother — ^known  to  the  satirists  as  Barrel-Mira- 
beau'  because  of  his  love  of  drink — ^had  asked  dur- 
ing the  discussion  of  this  matter  that  the  National 
Assembly  determine  by  a  decree  whether  the  right 
or  the  left  was  the  place  of  honour.  He  was 
answered  with  one  of  those  clinching  arguments 
that  the  French  Revolutionist  loved:  God  the 
Father  had  sat  on  the  left  of  God  the  Son,  so  why 
should  any  one  quarrel  with  that  position?  A 
place  in  the  centre  of  the  representatives  of  France 
was  the  most  glorious  that  a  king  could  occupy 
on  earth.  The  form  of  oath  was  to  be  this:  "I, 
citizen.  King  of  the  French,  swear  to  the  nation 
to  employ  all  the  power  delegated  to  me  by  the 
constitutional  law  of  the  state  in  maintaining  the 
constitution,  and  providing  for  the  execution  of 
the  laws." 

•  Plate  65,  p.  137. 


Fraternity  139 

There  was  an  undercurrent  of  radicalism  in  the 
Paris  press  that  even  the  approaching  fete  could 
not  divert.  There  is  much  growling  at  the  depu- 
ties because  they  had  allowed  the  King  so  large  an 
income  as  25,000,000  francs  and  the  Queen,  in 
addition,  4,000,000  francs.  Brutal  insults  are  ut- 
tered against  the  Queen  and  sarcasms  against  the 
King  because  of  the  revelations  in  the  book  of 
pensions,  the  livre  roiioc.  There  are  attempts  to 
boost  up  the  waning  prestige  of  the  Conquerors  of 
the  Bastile,  sneers  at  the  dangers  of  making  an 
idol  of  Lafayette. 

It  is  the  fate  of  revolutions  to  engender  dema- 
gogues with  crude  ideas  and  enough  brute  force 
to  ensure  for  them  a  w4de  hearing.  Representative 
government  was  exactly  a  year  old  in  France,  yet 
here  were  men  already  raising  the  cry  that  no 
nation  is  really  free  when  the  will  of  its  representa- 
tives takes  the  place  of  its  own."  All  sober- 
minded  men  know  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
government  by  the  whole  people.  Human  nature 
is  so  made  that  one  portion  of  a  community  always 
will  guide  the  other;  and  men  chosen  with  calm 
deliberateness  after  full  discussion  of  their  merits 
will  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  be  safer  guides  than 
those  who  emerge  as  heroes  of  the  moment  from 
the  troubled  waters  of  popular  excitement.  The 
immediate  future  was  to  show  how  easily  such 
heroes  of  the  moment  can  come  to  be  the  intolerant 
heads  of  political  factions,  and  end  as  fanatics  and 
persecutors.     This    development    was    pnxM'ediiig 

'  Revolutions  df  Paris,  June  ^~\2,  1790. 


140  The  French  Revolution 

fast  at  the  time  of  the  Fete  of  Federation.  Pru- 
dhomme  with  his  Revolutions  de  Paris  was  soon  to 
yield  the  palm  to  Marat  and  his  Ami  du  Peuple. 
Yet,  in  general,  there  was  delirious  joy  at  the  pros- 
pect of  the  Fete.  There  was  a  fierce  outcry, 
indeed,  at  the  announcement  that  only  ticket- 
holders  would  be  admitted.  How  unf raternal !  But 
the  municipality  was  soon  made  to  see  the  error 
of  its  ways,  and,  at  dead  of  night,  sent  men  with 
drums  to  awaken  the  citizens  and  tell  them  that 
cards  would  not  be  needed. ' 

The  next  day,  the  great  Fete  of  Federation  took 
place.  The  elements  were  unpropitious.  The 
rain  came  down  in  torrents  as  the  various  process- 
ions formed  at  daybreak.  "It  was  desolating," 
writes  a  deputy,^  "but  we  chose  the  better  part; 
everything  can  readily  be  made  a  source  of  joy  if 
only  joy  abides  in  the  soul.  We  determined  to 
smile  at  our  disaster. ' '  And  this  optimist  deputy 
even  took  occasion  to  admire  the  effect  of  the 
umbrellas  of  the  spectators  which  formed  above 
their  heads  "a  sort  of  roof  of  many -coloured  silks. " 

The  showers  ceased,  then  began  again.  They 
seemed  to  have  conspired  to  sadden  the  Fete  but 
the  glorious  optimism  continued.  No  one  would 
acknowledge  to  himself  that  here  was  an  evil  omen 
for  the  progress  of  Fraternity  in  France.  In  the 
midst  of  the  downpour,  some  of  the  military  dele- 
gates started  to  dance.  We  have  a  representation 
of  the  scene  in  which  the  artist  seems  to  have 

'  Revolutions  de  Paris,  July  ioth-i7th. 
'  Journal  de  Paris,  July  15th. 


M 


•J    ^ 


c 
o 


141 


142  The  French  Revolution 

seized  this  moment.'  The  Journal  de  Paris  de- 
scribes how  circles  were  formed,  small  and  few  at 
first,  then  multiplying  surprisingly — sometimes 
broadening  out  again  until  a  very  few  of  them 
covered  the  whole  Champ  de  Mars,  then  contract- 
ing again  into  a  greater  nimiber.  One  saw  nothing 
but  guards  and  grenadiers  running  and  jumping 
hand  in  hand,  while  the  air  was  filled  with  bits  of 
song  and  cries  of  joy.  "  Never,"  writes  a  mem- 
ber of  the  National  Assembly,  "was  there  a  spec- 
tacle at  once  more  agreeable  and  more  impressive 
than  that  of  this  army,  at  the  moment  of  swearing 
to  shed  its  last  drop  of  blood  for  liberty,  dancing 
aroimd  the  altar  of  the  fatherland  under  the  gaze 
of  the  legislators." 

One  sees  from  this  why  an  artist  thought  it 
worth  while  to  include  the  dancing  members  in  his 
representation  of  the  scene.  But  it  must  be 
chronicled  that  some  persons  did  not  view  the 
episode  in  the  same  light.  Count  Axel  Fersen,  a 
Swedish  military  attache  and  the  especial  friend 
of  the  Queen,  is  aghast  at  the  want  of  discipline 
exhibited  by  men  who  called  themselves  soldiers. 
He  had  seen  them  run  up  to  the  altar,  seize  a 
priest  and  two  monks,  force  caps  and  guns  upon 
them,  and  then  parade  them  round  the  field  "sing- 
ing and  dancing  as  savages  do  before  eating  a 
Christian."^ 

We  need  not  dwell  on  the  evolutions,  the  cheers, 
the  vows,  the  frantic  enthusiasm  for  Lafayette 
whose  very  legs  were  covered  with  kisses  as  he  sat 

'  Plate  66,  p.  141.  '  Klinckowstrom,  p.  56. 


Plate  67.     A  representation  of  the  typical  "Conqueror 
of  the  Bastile." 


143 


144 


The  French  Revolution 


on  horseback;  the  celebration  of  mass  on  the  altar 
of  the  fatherland  by  three  hundred  priests  wear- 


V  1"  E 
{/.'<■■  //    'jK ',■/■/ ;////'//  ,■/  .'//^,'/!>/'n///>/.'  ,',.','/(\''////,'   '((•/■//■///  (K--  A/  ,'^>, /.•////<■ 


Plate  68.     A  representation  of  the  dancing  on  the  ruins  of  the  Bastile  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  fall  of  the  fortress. 

ing  tri-coloured  scarves ;  the   consecration  of   the 
banners  of  the  eighty-three  departments. 

The  radicals  were  angry  because  the  King  had 
taken  the  oath  from  his  seat  in  the  gallery  and  not 
on  the  altar  of  the  fatherland ;  because  white  flags 
had  waved  among  the  tri-coloured  ones;  because 
the  royal  family  had  been  too  warmly  applauded, 


Fraternity  145 

and  last  but  not  least,  because  the  Conquerors  of 
the  Bastile  had  been  ignored.  We  have  an  illus- 
tration of  a  "Conqueror"'  which  may  have  been 
intended  to  represent  him  in  the  costume  he  wore 
that  day.  It  was  a  pity  to  have  gone  to  such 
expense  and  then  not  have  it  appreciated!  Yet 
we  are  told  by  the  Revolutions  de  Paris  that  there 
was  "  not  a  word,  not  a  single  homage  to  the  mem- 
ory of  those  who,  on  the  corresponding  day,  per- 
ished under  the  walls  of  that  horrible  fortress!" 
The  delegates  from  the  eighty-three  departments 
had  not  even  asked  to  see  the  Conquerors.  They 
had  danced  on  the  ruins  of  the  Bastile  (indeed  one 
of  our  illustrations*  shows  them  thus  occupied)  and 
had  not  said  to  themselves,  "Last  year  nearly  a 
hundred  citizens  perished  here;  they  have  wives 
and  children,  let  us  visit,  embrace,  and  succorthem." 
It  was  utterly  in  vain  that  the  poor  Conquerors 
tried  to  make  the  delegates  from  the  provinces  take 
an  interest  in  them.  They  announced  a  memorial 
celebration,  on  the  scene  of  their  former  glory,  in 
honour  of  the  glorious  slain.  Around  an  impromptu 
mausoleum  they  grouped  all  the  widows,  orphans, 
maimed,  and  wounded.  They  sent  a  special  invita- 
tion to  the  delegates,  yet  few  came  at  all  and  none 
officially.  "The  standards  of  the  eighty-three 
departments  were  not  there, "  wrote  the  Revolutions 
de  Paris,  and  it  published  a  formal  "Complaint  to 
the  departments  on  the  conduct  of  the  delegates  to 
the  federation."  The  latter,  it  declared,  had 
missed  seeing  the  Concjuerors  of  the  Bastile  and 

'  Plate  67,  J).  143.  •  Plate  68,  p.  144. 


10 


146  The  French  Revolution 

pressing  to  their  bosoms  the  cripples,  orphans,  and 
widows.  There  was  surely  some  conspiracy,  some 
plan  to  discourage  others  from  following  the  noble 
example  of  the  Conquerors. 

The  matter  was  not  so  unimportant  as  might  at 
first  appear.  Is  it  not  the  first  symptom  of  the 
cleft  that  was  to  yawn  between  the  capital  and  the 
provinces?  The  ideals  were  different.  The  prov- 
inces cared  much  more  for  the  larger  aspects  of 
the  Revolution;  the  self-glorification,  the  narrow- 
ness, the  violence  of  the  Parisians  disgusted  them. 
The  Parisians  on  the  other  hand  were  consistently 
to  maintain  the  same  attitude  here  adopted.  It 
was  they  who  had  given  liberty  to  France :  all  who 
believed  otherwise  must  be  in  league  with  the 
aristocrats.  We  shall  see  later  how  this  attitude 
paved  the  way  for  one  of  the  most  incredible,  in- 
defensible, and  cowardly  acts  of  the  Revolution — 
the  expulsion  of  the  Girondist  members  from  the 
lap  of  the  National  Convention. 


CHAPTER  V 


FLIGHT 


FOR  a  short  time  after  the  F6te  of  Federation 
things  were  seen  in  a  rosy  Hght.  We  have  an 
allegorical  representation'  which  shows  the 
King,  father  of  a  free  people,  accepting  from  the 
hand  of  France  the  Constitution  and  the  pact  of 
federation.  Abundance  is  pouring  out  her  gifts, 
while  Justice  is  settling  matters  with  the  speculator 
who  has  been  fattening  on  the  poor  man's  money. 
Above,  in  the  full  glare  of  the  sunlight,  the  rays  of 
which  she  reflects  with  her  mirror.  Truth  is  guid- 
ing the  sentiments  of  a  prince  beloved  by  his  people 
and  is  pointing  to  the  portraits  of  his  august  pre- 
decessors. Fame  with  her  trumpet  announces  to 
Europe  the  nation's  liberty  and  the  destruction  of 
despotism. 

But  meanwhile  a  brand  of  discord  that  was  not 
to  be  extinguished  for  many  years  was  being 
ignited. 

Between  July  12  and  August  24,  iy<)o,  were 
passed  the  laws  that  are  known  collectively  as  the 
civil  constitution  of  the  clergy.''  Tlicy  meant  an 
entire  transformation  of  ihat  body,  a  rooting-uj)  of 

'  I'latc  69,  p.  14K.       '  The  text  will  Ik,'  found  in  DuvcTKicr,  i.,  242. 

IJ7 


J. CI  A'-     .\.\  \    ROI    .1  /'.r,-   Ji^n   /<V"^'  '■•'''■■   '''■.•'■/      '■■■'  '"■""-    '<'    ■  ■' '  '    "  "  . 

j^,,  //%7v»,v- Jw.A^ /:  y^'^.-i^v  .-v-.r //v^-^.O.iv/ ,/^,r<^,A.'   :-.w^:,-,   „..-/■,■«/:•.• '""y^-  - 


/.•.•iy*,vritr:r  i/^  c  .fill/ •    v//  //.i-.v^v  <///. 


r   /,i/','///-'-W'-   •7'--    -'^,  /.'//.v^/   .■w^- 


y 


Plate  69.     An  allegorical  representation  showing  the  King  accepting  from  the 
hand  of  France  the  pact  of  federation. 


148 


(  )liul     Stl  111    ' 


Plate  70.     A  cartoon  which  shows  the  clergy  asking  in 
desperation,  "  What  am  I?  " 


149 


150  The  French  Revolution 

all  its  old  traditions,  the  reduction  of  all  its  mem- 
bers to  mere  salaried  officials  of  the  state.  The 
great  question  of  the  investiture,  about  which  the 
Holy  Roman  Church  and  the  Holy  Roman  Empire 
had  once  carried  on  a  bitter  struggle  lasting  fifty 
years,  was  now  decided  between  France  and  Rome 
by  a  few  strokes  of  the  pen.  New  ecclesiastical 
districts  were  established  corresponding  to  the  new 
departments ;  the  election  of  bishops  was  to  be 
wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  state,  neither  the  Pope 
nor  the  King  having  any  voice  in  the  matter. 
Before  consecration  each  bishop,  and  each  cure  or 
parish  priest,  was  to  take  the  civic  oath;  the  salar- 
ies were  to  be  fixed  by  law,  which  meant  that,  in 
general,  they  would  be  vastly  reduced. 

The  result  of  the  passing  of  these  laws  by  the 
National  Assembly  was  utterly  to  disrupt  the 
clergy.  The  allegiance  to  the  Pope  was  not  some- 
thing that  could  be  put  on  or  taken  off  like  an  old 
glove.  And  new  candidates  would  have  to  accept 
their  election  from  bodies  composed,  as  often  as  not, 
of  Jews  and  Protestants  as  well  as  Catholics.  We 
have  a  cartoon'  where  a  member  of  the  clergy  is 
asking  himself  in  desperation,  "What  am  I?" 

By  November,  1790,  130  bishops  and  46,000 
cures  had  refused  to  adhere  to  the  new  order  of 
things  and  take  the  oath  required  of  them.  The 
Assembly  then  began  a  policy  of  reprisal  and  laid 
heavy  penalties  on  disobedience:  deprivation  of 
office  and  prosecution  as  disturbers  of  the  peace. 
About  one  third  of  the  total  number  were  cowed 

'  Plate  70,  p.  149. 


Jirt^ir  ,/e  Ldhh\ 


Plate-  71.     A  cartoon  showing  the  proper  treatment  for  an  Abb<S 

who  will  not  take  the  civic  D.ith.     The  mother  applauds 

the  eastigatiun. 


151 


152  The  French  Revolution 

into  acquiescence  by  such  measures,  but  the  rest 
prepared  for  an  all  the  more  bitter  fight. 

Louis  XVI  himself  did  not  dare  to  veto  the  civil 
constitution.  In  his  last  will  and  testament  he 
was  to  express  his  regret  for  having  given  it  his 
sanction.  He  wrote  to  the  Pope,  now,  how  scan- 
dalized he  was  at  the  measure  and  how  he  was  sign- 
ing it  with  "death  in  his  heart."  He  would  rather, 
he  declared,  be  king  of  Metz  than  king  of  France. 

In  a  matter  that  aroused  such  fierce  passions  as 
this,  it  was  only  to  be  expected  that  the  cartoonists 
should  be  active,  though  the  productions  of  course 
are  all  one-sided.  In  one  entitled  "The  return  of 
Abbe  M.  to  his  father,  '"we  have  the  patriotic  old 
man,  with  the  cap  of  hberty  on  his  head,  soundly 
thrashing  his  cowering  son,  the  ahbe,  who  has 
refused  to  take  the  civic  oath.  From  the  window 
above,  the  mother  looks  on  and  claps  her  hands, 
with  "Bravo!  bravo!  he  has  long  been  playing  us 
dirty  tricks!" 

We  have  an  interesting  double  representation^ 
showing,  on  the  one  hand,  the  patriot-priest  tak- 
ing the  civic  oath  in  good  faith,  and,  on  the  other, 
the  aristocrat-priest  fleeing  from  the  civic  oath. 
In  the  first,  the  cure,  with  one  hand  on  his  heart 
and  with  a  liberty  cap  in  the  other,  is  standing  in 
front  of  the  cross  of  Christ  against  which  rests  the 
civil  constitution  of  the  clergy.  In  the  air  float  the 
bishop's  crook  and  mitre  that  will  one  day  be  his 
because  of  his  obedience.  But  the  second  picture 
shows  the  aristocrat-priest  out  on  the  cold,  wind- 

'  Plate  71,  p.  151.  '  Plates  ^2  and  73. 


I'RKTRE  FATIIIOM'K 

///•/V/////  r//-'  on/, /jr.  fof  /r,/r/y//^'/// C\\\{\\\c 


U 


Plate  72.     A  representation  of  tlu'  beatitude  of  a  priest  wlio  has 
taken  the  patriotic  oath.     A  bishop's  mitre  is  within  his  reach. 


153 


154  The  French  Revolution 

swept,  snow-covered  hillside.  He  is  reduced  to  a 
mere  skeleton  and  he  is  asking  himself,  "Where 
shall  I  go?"  To  call  a  man  an  aristocrat  in  those 
days  was  to  say  the  very  worst  of  him  that  the 
mind  of  man  could  conceive.  The  Revolutions  de 
Paris  came  out  with  an  illustration  of  a  most  novel 
kind.'  At  first  view  it  represents  a  member  of  the 
clergy,  with  the  clerical  tie  and  cross,  and  grinding 
his  teeth  with  rage.  Above  is  the  inscription,  "An 
aristocrat  cursing  the  Revolution."  But  turning 
the  page  upside  down — and  the  reader  can  do  it  as 
well  with  our  book  as  with  the  Revolutions  de 
Paris — you  see  nothing  but  a  Simon-pure  noble, 
with  his  titles  of  nobility  for  a  collar  and  his  privi- 
leges for  a  cravat,  giving  forth  hearty  guffaws  of 
laughter.  Above  one  reads :  "An  aristocrat  trust- 
ing in  counter-revolution." 

Mirabeau  had  not  attempted  to  stand  by  the 
King  openly  in  this  matter  of  the  civil  constitution 
of  the  clergy.  Indeed  he  made  so  violent  an  on- 
slaught on  the  latter  that  he  was  elected  president 
of  the  Jacobin  Club.^  Yet  in  secret  he  continued 
his  relations  with  the  court,  declaring  that  the  more 
acts  of  folly  the  Assembly  could  be  induced  to  com- 
mit the  sooner  there  would  come  a  revision  of  the 
whole  Constitution.  The  King  and  Queen  were 
meanwhile  to  increase  their  own  popularity  by  vis- 
iting hospitals  and  asylums  and  seeking  to  improve 
the  condition  of  the  working  classes.  There  was  to 
be  an  extensive  system  of  spies  and  secret  agents  to 
influence  public  opinion  in  favour  of  the  monarchy, 

'  Plate  74,  p.  157.  »  Stern,  ii.,  219  ff. 


miA/fi/  /f'  ./^;;a<v// ri\  iMiK' 

Plate  73.     A  rc'prvscntation  of  t!ic  awful  fate  in  store  for  the  priest 
who  will  not  t'lke  the  civic  oath.     Tiic  wiu'l  whistles  tlirou^jli 

his  Ijones. 


155 


156  The  French  Revolution 

and  a  heavily  subsidized  press  as  well/  When  we 
reflect  that  Mirabeau's  programme  included  incit- 
ing the  clergy  not  to  take  the  civic  oath,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  in  him  anything  but  a  common  traitor 
to  his  cause. 

What  Mirabeau  merely  planned  to  do  for  the 
King  was  meanwhile  being  done  on  a  large  scale 
for  the  opposite  party,  the  leaders  of  which  were 
Robespierre,  Petion  and  others.  Their  friends 
packed  the  galleries  in  the  Assembly,  while  the 
Jacobin  clubs  disseminated  their  teachings  through- 
out France.  Those  holding  opposite  opinions  were 
hounded  as  execrable  criminals.  Whether  or  not 
the  Revolutions  de  Paris  was  paid  for  its  good 
offices  is  not  clear,  but  it  keeps  up  its  attacks  on  the 
King  and  Queen  like  a  gadfly.  Louis  is  railed  at 
for  not  visiting  the  ruins  of  the  Bastile;  for  allow- 
ing the  Assembly  to  come  to  him  to  pay  its  respects 
on  New  Year's  Day  instead  of  going  to  it  as  a 
"salaried  functionary"  ought  to  do;  for  not  prop- 
erly educating  the  Dauphin.  The  latter  should  be 
given  such  books  to  read  as  Crimes  of  the  Kings  of 
France  from  the  Time  ofClovis  down  to  Our  Own  Day. ^ 

But  the  worst  arraignment  was  one  of  the 
Queen  early  in  October,  1790.^  It  is  in  the  form 
of  an  "open  letter  to  the  wife  of  the  King,"  for 
that  is  the  only  title  they  are  willing  to  accord  her. 
People  have  changed  their  minds  about  the  Semi- 
ramises,  Elizabeths,  Maria  Theresas,  and  the  like, 
and  want  no  more  of  their  kind.  What  they  do 
want  is  a  good  wife  and  mother. 

'  Stern,  ii.,  230  ff.  » No.  81.  J  No.  65. 


Plate  74.     A  representation  of  an  aristocrat  priest  cursing  the  Revolution. 

Turn  the  page  upside  down. 


'.S7 


158 


The  French  Revolution 


The  tone  of  the  letter  is  cruel  and  cutting  in  the 
extreme.  France  once  idolized  her,  now  she  has 
to  sue  for  approbation.     It  was  a  good  lesson  she 


Plate  75.     A  caricature  of  Marie  Antoinette  as  a  vile  harpy  treading  on  the 

Constitution. 

had  been  given  on  the  5th  and  6th  of  October.  She 
has  been  cherishing  vile  harpies,  indulging  in  fan- 
tastic luxury,  playing  the  Austrian,  and  diverting 
French  funds  to  Austrian  uses.  She  doubtless  still 
holds  in  her  hands  the  threads  of  a  plot  to  remove 
the  King  to  Marseilles,  Metz,  or  Rouen. 


Flight  159 


Marie  Antoinette,  probably  at  this  period,  is 
herself  represented  by  a  cartoonist  as  a  vile 
harpy.'     She  is  tearing  with  her  great  claws  at  the 


Plate  76.     A  caricature  of  Louis  XVI  as  a  homed  pig. 

Rights  of  Man  and  ihc  CunstiluLiun  uf  France. 

It  must  be  said  in  extenuation  of  such  attacks 
that  Marie  Antoinette  actualh'  was  engaged  in  a 
plot  to  remove  Louis  XVI  from  Paris  at  the  mom- 
ent when  the  "open  letter"  in  the  Revolutions  dc 

'  Plate  75,  p.  158. 


i6o 


The  French  Revolution 


Paris  appeared.  Count  Louis  de  Bouille  who  was 
concerned  in  the  flight  to  Varennes  wrote  later  in 
connection  with  that  affair:     "It  was  in  the  month 


Plate  77.     A  caricature  of  Marie  Antoinette  as  an  Austrian  pantheress. 


of  October,  1790,  when  the  King  and  Queen  adopted 
the  project  of  delivering  themselves  from  slavery. " 
Indeed  Marie  Antoinette  played  more  than  a 
passive  part.  "  It  was  at  her  desire,"  writes  Count 
Bouille,  "that  Count  Fersen,  who  had  access  to  the 


JamtP/r-fy,  larP/vncaif  crvuv/U  ffu^^  w Dra  Art  VOO  e^  ^ 

■  ■  \ 

marraae  miutt' VtTiu  Jtwcx^  auC' c  Aft  nkn  ^la  vjuj"  i/i,^//*'     t 

Hale  78.     A  cartoon  wliicli  shows  the  devil  iniiliiiR  Pope  Piiis  VI  to  sign 
the  hull  condemning  the  civil  constitution  of  tlie  clergy. 


i62  The  French  Revolution 

King,  caused  the  project  for  his  deHverance  to  be 
laid  before  him."' 

The  hostility  against  the  King  and  Queen  goes 
on  increasing.  We  have  two  caricatures^  that  we 
can  date  only  by  conjecture  but  that  may  well 
be  ascribed  to  this  time.  The  court's  attitude 
towards  the  refractory  priests,  whom  it  undoubt- 
edly encouraged  in  secret,  had  much  to  do  with  the 
matter.  The  horns  on  the  head  of  the  pig  that 
represents  Louis  XVI  are  understandable  in  the 
light  of  a  passage  from  the  correspondence  of 
St ael -Hoist ein,  the  Swedish  ambassador-^: 

It  is  much  to  be  feared  that  there  will  soon  be  a  new  scene 
of  horror;  De  la  Motte  is  here  with  his  wife  [the  De  la 
Mottes  of  diamond  necklace  fame!]  and  there  seems  to  be 
a  demand  that  the  Assembly  re-try  the  case  and  that  she 
[Madame  de  la  Motte]  appear  before  the  bar.  They  intend 
to  employ  against  the  Queen  every  means  that  the  blackest 
of  imaginations  could  invent.  It  is  believed  that  it  will  soon 
he  a  question  of  divorce  proceedings  and  that  the  motion 
conceals   the  darkest  designs. 

And  again,  a  fortnight  later:  "  There  are  horribly 
black  machinations  against  the  Queen.  It  is  she 
whom  the  enrages  fear  and  mean  to  ruin  because 
they  regard  her  as  their  implacable  enemy,  the  only 
one  who  can  rally  a  party  around  her."  Lord 
Gower,  too,  the  English  ambassador,  speaks  of  an 
impending  crisis  due  largely  to  "  the  fanaticism  of 
liberty  and  democratic  rage."'^ 

'  Memoires  sur  V affaire  de  Varennes,  p.  i8.  ^  Plates  76  and  77. 

3  Pp.  177-178.     The  month  is  October. 

4  Gower's  Despatches,  p.  43. 


MATJNt:L  Dli  I'WLMS  ROyM'-'y  'J"- 


w- 


MT€f/DC2  Toys 
^tJ  SOKT  FAHEii 


Plate  79.     A  cartoon  showinR  the  papal  bull,  tcjgethcr  with  all  the  different 
journals  which  favoured  the  aristocratic  party,  being  ttjnsigned 

Uj  the  flanK'S. 
163 


1 64  The  French  Revolution 

The  civil  constitution  of  the  clergy,  which  had 
been  condemned  by  a  bull  of  the  Pope  (we  have  a 
caricature'  where  the  devil  is  inciting  Pius  VI  to 
sign  it  and  another^  where  the  bull  is  being  burnt), 
had  called  forth  rebellion  in  Brittany,  in  Nimes,  in 
Montauban,  and  in  various  other  places.  To 
Nancy,  where  the  soldiers  had  revolted  against 
their  officers,  Bouille  was  despatched  with  an 
army,  and  the  fact  that  blood  was  shed  in  restoring 
order  engendered  extreme  bitterness.  In  Decem- 
ber, there  were  disturbances  at  Lyons,  Strasburg, 
and  Metz.  In  Paris  itself,  there  were  scenes  of 
disorder.  During  a  performance  of  Iphigenie  in 
the  Opera-House,  the  air  Celebrons  notre  reine  was 
hissed,  and  the  singers  were  forced  to  trample  on  a 
wreath  that  had  been  thrown  them  by  way  of 
approval.-*  Early  in  February  there  was  a  regular 
panic  because  three  hundred  and  sixty  horses  had 
been  found  standing  in  stables  in  Versailles ;  but  it 
was  discovered  that  they  had  been  there  for  months 
ana  for  legitimate  purposes.'^  Soon  afterwards  the 
Assembly  made  the  Queen's  old  friends  the  Poli- 
gnacs  disgorge  800,000  francs  and  an  estate  bought 
with  money  given  them  by  the  King.^  Next,  the 
departure  of  the  King's  aged  aunts  for  Rome 
threw  all  France  into  a  ferment.  No  one  cared 
for  the  old  ladies  themselves — disagreeable,  med- 
dlesome personalities  for  whom  no  one  has  a  good 
word  to  say.  But  were  they  not  testing  the 
patience  of  the  people?     And  might  they  not  be 

'  Plate  78,  p.  161.  ^  Plate,  p.  79163.         ^  Stael-Holstein,  183. 

<Gower,  55.  s  //,._  62. 


■J 


in 


^ 


0    00 

o   c« 


\l  I 


c 
.2 

C 
o 
■J} 
o 
u 

a 

u 


a 

X 

n 


o 

00 

i> 


165 


i66  The  French  Revolution 

useful  as  hostages?'  A  mob  of  fishwives  stopped 
them  on  their  journey  at  Arnay-le-Duc,  but  Mira- 
beau  obtained  a  decree  in  the  Assembly  permitting 
them  to  continue  their  journey.  The  price  of  gold 
went  up  because  of  the  amount  they  were  supposed 
to  be  carrying  with  them,  while,  as  a  result  of  the 
agitation  in  the  matter,  a  crowd  of  Parisian  women 
went  to  the  Luxembourg  to  see  if  Monsieur  was  safe, 
and  the  latter  consented  to  walk  in  their  company 
all  the  way  to  the  Tuileries.^ 

The  air  was  thick  with  storm-clouds.  February 
28th  is  known  in  French  history  as  ''the  day  of 
daggers."  We  have  a  representation  of  it^  that 
almost  rises  to  the  height  of  the  symbolical  so 
greatly  is  it  exaggerated.  For  several  days  the 
mob  had  been  surrounding  the  Tuileries  because, 
it  was  reported,  the  King  was  having  that  palace 
joined  by  a  subterranean  passage  to  the  distant 
fortress  of  Vincennes.  Friends  of  the  King  had 
gone  secretly  armed  to  his  assistance,  but  one  of 
them  had  inadvertently  dropped  a  hunting  knife. 
All  visitors  were  then  searched  by  the  National 
Guards  and  a  number  of  pistols  and  daggers  were 
found.  The  King  commanded  their  immediate 
surrender."^  Lafayette,  meanwhile,  in  the  effort 
to  keep  order  at  Vincennes,  had  fired  on  the 
people,  and  in  consequence  had  fallen  from  his 
niche  as  an  idol.  Mirabeau,  too,  who  expressed 
his  indignation  at  the  searching  of  the  King's  visi- 
tors, was  bitterly  attacked  at  the  Jacobin  Club  and, 

'  Revolutions  de  Paris,  No.  85.  »  Gower,  59-64. 

3  Plate  80,  p.  165.  •»  Gower,  66-7. 


Flight  167 


't) 


if  Camille  Desmoulins  can  be  believed,  was  made 
to  sweat  drops  of  agony  and  was  left  more  dead 
than  alive.  A  fictitious  account  was  published  of 
the  sums  he  had  received  for  passing  laws  against 
the  people. 

The  episode  of  the  daggers  was  of  course  ex- 
ploited to  the  utmost  by  the  King's  enemies.  We 
have  a  cartoon  entitled  "The  disarming  of  the 
good  nobility"'  and  purporting  to  represent  the 
"exact  form  of  the  infamous  poniards  wielded  by 
those  who  had  their  ears  boxed,  or  were  arrested  or 
driven  away  from  the  Tuileries  by  the  National 
Guards  on  the  28th  of  February,  1791."  On  the 
ugly  blade  was  an  inscription  declaring  that  it  had 
been  forged  by  aristocrats  and  that  the  monarchists 
had  been  led  astray  by  the  refractory  priests. 

In  March,  the  Revolutions  de  Paris'  published  a 
decree  demanding  a  republic,  which,  it  said,  had 
emanated  from  the  eighty-three  departments.  It 
has  no  mercy  any  longer  for  Louis  X\'I.  "It  is 
absurd  and  revolting,"  it  declared,  "to  have  to 
recognize  as  supreme  head  an  individual  with  no 
other  claim  to  the  place  than  that  he  took  the 
trouble  to  be  born."  This  was  not  original,  for 
Beaumarchais,  in  his  Figaro,  had  applied  the  same 
words  to  the  nobles.  The  Revolutions  went  on  to 
say  that  "the  throne  petrifies  the  most  human  of 
hearts  from  the  moment  that  one  is  seated  upon 
it, "  anfl  that  "a  cnjwn  compresses  and  narrows  the 
best  organized  brain." 

It  was  this  juncture  that  Mirabeau  chose  for 

•  Plate  81,  p.  168.  =N'().  (;o. 


-^''"^^^"'■IH'" 


-.rrrj*--— - 

S 

j.-oniio  .  Jill  .!i:csHou5ttai  .. 


I  cci'yX'  fl 


Plate  8i.     What  purports  to  be  "the  exact  form  of  the  infamous 

poniards  wielded  by  those  who  had  their  ears  boxed,  or  were 

arrested  or  driven  away  from  the  Tuileries  by  the 

National  Guards  on  the  28th  of 

February,  1791." 


168 


T\ 


P 


o 
o 

o 
-^ 
a 
I. 
Cud 

•a 

3 
a 
o 

•5 

•a 


n   a 
P~,   6 

*^    S 

t/i 
C    *J 

o  •" 
•Z   o 

c 

ai 

a 

o 


C 

a 

E 

Si 

c 


00 


169 


170  The  French  Revolution 

dying."  In  spite  of  the  attacks  on  him  at  the 
Jacobin  Club,  he  was  still  enormously  popular. 
Over  and  above  all  the  eulogies  that  were  pub- 
lished at  the  time,  there  are  still  in  the  National 
Archives  one  hundred  and  fifty  manuscripts  con- 
cerning his  death.  He  had  the  fullest  sense  of  his 
own  importance  to  the  last,  remarking  as  he  lay 
on  his  bed  and  heard  the  roar  of  cannon,  'Ts  that 
for  the  funeral  of  Achilles?"^  He  realized  the 
hold  that  he  had  on  the  people  and  he  said  of  his 
opponent  at  the  Jacobins',  Lameth,  who  had  re- 
fused to  be  one  of  a  deputation  to  enquire  about 
his  condition:  "I  knew  he  was  clumsy  but  never 
thought  him  quite  so  stupid!"^ 

The  Revolutions  de  Paris  did  not  dare  to  speak 
disparagingly  of  him.  There  is  merely  a  hint  that 
Mirabeau  never  did  anything  otherwise  than  oppor- 
tunely and  that  his  end  seemed  to  furnish  new 
proof  of  this  assertion.  He  had  died  when  at  the 
apex  of  his  glory. 

It  is  doubtful  if  Paris  had  ever  seen  such  a 
funeral.  The  church  of  St.  Genevieve,  just  near- 
ing  completion,  was  turned  into  a  Pantheon  with 
the  insciiption  over  the  portico:  "A  grateful  coun- 
try to  her  great  men."  A  contemporary  print "^ 
shows  us  the  Pantheon  before  the  great  city  had 
closed  up  around  it.  All  France  followed  in  the 
procession  that  took  Mirabeau  to  his  last  rest. 
The  ashes  of  Rousseau  and  of  Voltaire  were  soon  to 
be  brought  to  keep  him  company.     Of  all  his  acts, 

'  April  2,  1791.  2  Stern,  ii.,  303.  3  Gower,  78. 

"Plate  82,  p.  169. 


Plate  83.     A  portrait  of  Mirabcau.  issued  at  the  time  of  his 

death,  which  recalls  the  episode  of  June  2.^,  1789,  when 

he  defied  the  Master  of  Ceremonies  of  the  King. 


171 


172  The  French  Revolution 

if  we  can  judge  by  a  memorial  portrait'  published 
in  connection  with  the  decree  according  him  the 
honours  reserved  for  the  country's  great  men,  the 
one  that  had  made  the  deepest  impression  was  his 
impassioned  address  to  the  King's  master  of  cere- 
monies on  June  23,  1789:  "Go  tell  those  who  sent 
you  that  we  are  here  by  the  will  of  the  people  and 
shall  yield  only  to  the  force  of  bayonets ! ' '  We  see 
him  in  front  of  the  Temple  of  Liberty  motioning 
back  the  royal  emissary,  while  the  bayonets  are 
already  pointed  in  his  direction. 

"  The  ministers  and  the  court  are  in  conster- 
nation," writes  the  Swedish  ambassador"  in  con- 
nection with  Mirabeau's  death;  "the  strength  of 
what  they  flattered  themselves  was  their  party 
rested  entirely  on  the  prodigious  talents  of  this 
man,  who,  by  thought,  speech,  and  action  in- 
fluenced all  events . ' '  The  general  disorder  alarmed 
the  court  greatly,  and,  indeed,  with  cause.  Lord 
Gower^  writes  that  there  is  a  set  of  men  whose 
object  is  the  total  annihilation  of  the  monarchy 
however  limited.  As  the  heads  of  this  party,  he 
designates  Robespierre,  Petion,  Buzot,  and  Prieur. 
He  tells  in  the  same  breath  how  the  fishwives  have 
given  the  grey  nuns  a  regular  whipping  because 
they  had  heard  mass  celebrated  by  non-juring 
priests. 

But  was  not  this  exactly  what  the  King  and 
Queen  were  doing?  They,  too,  needed  chastening 
by  the  mob.  When,  on  April  i8th,  Louis  XVI  and 
Marie   Antoinette   prepared   to   drive   with   their 

'  Plate  83,  p.  171.  ^  Stael-Holstein,  198.  3  Despatches,  79. 


Flight  173 


family  to  St.  Cloud,  it  was  believed,  and  probably 
rightly,  that  their  object  was  to  celebrate  the 
Easter  service  with  priests  of  their  own  choice. 
Both  were  sincerely  religious  according  to  their 
lights. 

Doubtless  many  of  the  same  fishwives  who  had 
flagellated  the  grey  nuns  were  among  the  crowd 
that  entered  the  courtyard  of  the  Tuileries  and 
induced  the  National  Guards  to  refuse  to  open  the 
gates  for  the  royal  family  to  pass  out.  The  latter 
were  in  a  position  that  was  ludicrous  because  of 
their  helplessness.  Neither  pleading  nor  com- 
manding was  of  any  avail.  Lafayette,  as  com- 
mander of  the  National  Guards,  would  have  used 
force  had  the  King  given  his  consent;  but  Louis 
was  not  willing  to  go  to  such  lengths.  Insulted 
and  laughed  at,  they  sat  there  for  more  than  two 
hours.  The  King  was  told  that  he  was  unfit  to 
reign,  that  he  was  paid  too  much,  that  he  was  a 
big  pig.  What  was  there  to  do?  It  was  suggested 
to  Bailly  to  proclaim  martial  law,  but  he  refused. 
The  King  and  Queen  gave  up  the  struggle.  Angry, 
deeply  humiliated,  they  alighted  and  re-entered  the 
palace.  Their  last  scruples  were  gone.  Fersen' 
tells  us  that  they  are  now  determined  to  go  to  any 
length  of  deception  in  order  to  inspire  confidence 
in  the  canaille,  and  then  escape  from  Paris.  They 
will  pretend  to  accept  the  Revolution  absolutely. 

The  King  did,  indeed,  make  a  formal  protest 
in  the  Assembly  against  the  indignities  to  which  he 
had  been  subjected;  but  the  Assembly  itself  was 

'I.,  97- 


174  The  French  Revolution 

in  a  ludicrous  state  of  indecision.  Was  it  their 
inherited  political  inexperience  or  was  it  pure  col- 
lective pusillanimity  that  subjected  each  of  these 
legislative  bodies  in  turn  to  the  least  change  in 
popular  opinion?  No  king  was  ever  more  in  the 
thrall  of  cabinet  advisers  than  were  these  great 
bodies  of  men  at  the  mercy  of  those  who  crowded 
around  the  doors  or  thronged  the  spectators' 
benches.  As  Louis  entered  the  hall,  now,  the 
president  advanced  some  distance  to  meet  him, 
then  suddenly  bethinking  himself  that  he  was 
doing  too  much  honour  to  a  mere  functionary  of 
the  people,  turned  and  scurried  back  to  his  place. 
When  the  King  ended  his  speech  asking  the  Assem- 
bly to  aid  him  in  showing  the  nation  that  he  was 
free,  the  members  were  at  a  loss  to  know  whether 
or  not  to  applaud.^ 

The  one  idea,  the  one  longing  now,  was  to 
escape  from  Paris.  The  King  had,  unfortunately 
very  few  friends  among  any  class  of  the  population, 
a  fact  of  which  he  himself  seems  to  have  been  ignor- 
ant. Even  from  the  camp  of  the  emigres,  the 
Marquise  de  Bombelles^  writes  of  her  sovereign: 
"You  cannot  imagine  to  what  an  extent  he  is 
despised  abroad  and  what  his  nearest  relatives 
say  of  him." 

A  faithful  follower,  however,  was  the  Queen's 
old  friend.  Count  Axel  Fersen.  Through  him,  Louis 
and  Marie  Antoinette  hoped  to  win  the  aid  of  the 
Swedish  king.  But  what  are  we  to  think  when 
we  find  them  willing  to  dismember  France  in  order 

'  Debats  et  Decrets,  April  19,  1791.  ^  Correspondance,  130. 


rii<:ht  175 


\> 


to  procure  this  assistance?  Fersen  is  to  tell  his 
king  that  the  French  sovereigns  are  inclined  to 
offer  "advantages  or  reasonable  sacrifices"  if  they 
can  secure  the  neutrality  of  England,  and  that  he 
thinks  they  would  also  accord  Sweden  "advantages 
proportionate  to  the  extent  and  importance  of  the 
aid  rendered."  '  They  still,  then,  regard  the  soil 
of  France  as  their  own  property,  but  arc  ready  to 
barter  a  part  of  it  away!  The  King  waits  anx- 
iously to  see  what  "advantages  or  sacrifices"  the 
powers  will  demand ;  his  idea  is  not  to  offer  them 
but  to  "accord  them  if  it  becomes  absolutely  neces- 
sary "  ;  there  is  talk  of  the  part  or  the  whole  of  "the 
Indies." 

Fersen  himself  was  something  more  than  the 
mere  chivalrous  knight  of  a  fair  queen  in  distress. 
He  is  a  plotter  on  no  mean  scale.  We  find  him 
seriously  discussing  with  Breteuil,  Louis's  former 
minister,  a  plan  for  throwing  France  into  bank- 
ruptcy which,  however,  "the  King  thinks  should 
be  only  partial. "  '  The  clergy  are  to  recover  their 
estates  but  burdened  with  the  nine  hundred  mil- 
lion assignats  already  issued.  Nine  hundred  mil- 
lion? The  King  thinks  it  would  be  better  to  say 
one  billion,  then  the  court  will  have  something  upon 
which  to  fall  back! 

Idle  dreams!  The  first  thing  to  do  was  to  get 
away  from  Paris.  But  there  were  difficulties. 
Austria,  for  instance,  delayed  sending  troops,  ^'et 
Breteuil  considered  the  Emperor  the  person  "most 
authorized   to  punish   the  insults  heaped  on  the 

•  Fcrscn,  i.,  1/0-97.  '  I-.  '23,  12H. 


176  The  French  Revolution 

daughter  of  the  Cassars,  and  the  only  sovereign  who 
could  and  should  give  the  impulsion  to  all  the  rest. " 
Again  and  again  the  day  was  set  for  the  escape,  but 
there  was  always  some  reason  for  postponement. 
This  or  that  person  was  suspected  but  would  soon 
be  out  of  the  way.  It  seemed  best  to  wait  finally 
until  the  Assembly  should  have  paid  the  amount 
due  on  the  King's  salary — a  sordid  consideration, 
for  Louis  had  to  humour  the  Assembly  and  lull  it 
into  security  or  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  money. 

The  day  finally  set  for  the  great  venture  was  the 
20th  of  June.  General  Bouille  had  mapped  out  the 
route:  through  Chalons,  Montmirail,  St.  Mene- 
hould,  Varennes,  and  then  to  the  strong  fortress  of 
Montmedy  on  the  border.  The  King  would  lodge 
not  in  the  fortress  itself  but  in  the  neighbouring 
chateau  of  Thonelle.  After  Chalons,  Bouille  would 
have  detachments  of  soldiers  waiting  at  points 
along  the  route  so  that  rescue  would  be  almost 
impossible.  We  have  evidence  to  show  that 
Bouille  himself  did  not  know  whether  or  not 
the  King's  ultimate  intention  was  to  leave  the 
country. ' 

How  was  the  escape  to  be  made  when  the  palace 
of  the  Tuileries  had  been  double-sentried  because 
it  was  realized  that  flight  might  be  attempted? 
And  Lafayette  was  there,  alert,  with  his  National 
Guards.  That  very  night  he  and  Bailly  had  come 
to  attend  the  King's  retiring  and  remained  unusu- 
ally late.  After  they  had  taken  their  departure, 
the  door  of  the  King's  apartment  was  locked  and 

'  Fersen,  i.,  126. 


Fli-ht  177 


*i3 


the  key  given  to  a  sentinel  who  placed  it  under  his 
mattress  which  was  dragged  in  front  of  the  door. 
Surely  such  precautions  were  sufficient! 

But  no!  Fersen  and  the  Queen  had  been  very 
adroit  and  had  begun  their  preparations  days 
before.  Between  the  royal  apartments  and  a  rear 
entrance  to  the  palace  was  the  apartment  formerly 
used  by  the  Due  de  Villequier  who  had  emigrated 
after  the  Day  of  Daggers.  On  the  pretext  of 
changing  a  partition,  carpenters  had  been  sum- 
moned who  secretly  cut  a  door  through  to  one  of 
the  disused  rooms.' 

There  is  no  need  to  follow  the  movements  in 
detail.  The  Queen  took  the  lead,  first  descending 
with  her  children  and  their  governess  and  seeing 
them  into  a  carriage,  driven  by  Fersen,  which 
moved  oflf  to  a  short  distance;  then  the  Queen 
returned,  not  to  leave  until  the  King  and  Madame 
Elizabeth  were  ready  to  go  with  her.  In  the 
King's  very  bedchamber  an  attendant  was  wont 
to  sleep,  but  Louis,  after  having  retired  and  closed 
the  curtains  of  his  bed,  seized  a  moment  when  the 
attendant  was  out  of  the  room  to  escape,  redraw 
the  curtains,  and  pass  into  another  room  where  a 
disguise  was  laid  ready  for  him  to  assume. 

Fersen  was  waiting  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  de 
I'Echelle  and  the  Place  du  Petit-Carrousel.  The 
preparations  had  taken  longer  than  he  had  ex- 
pected, and  it  was  growing  late.  To  avoid  suspi- 
cion, the  members  of  the  party  canif  up  separately, 
the  Queen,  ior  some  reason,  appearing  only  after 

•  FoumJcr,  Varennes,  p.  76. 


tt 


178  The  French  Revolution 

a  considerable  time.  She  had  passed  so  near  to 
Lafayette's  carriage  that  she  could  have  touched 
it.  The  King,  for  his  part,  had  walked  close  to  a 
sentinel,  but  had  disarmed  suspicion  by  stopping 
unconcernedly  and  bending  down  as  if  to  tie  his 
shoe-string.  He  was  dressed  as  a  servant,  as  was 
also  the  Queen.  Fersen  had  procured  them  a  pass- 
port as  the  attendants  of  a  great  Russian  lady, 
Madame  de  Korff,  who  was  represented  by  the 
governess,  Madame  de  Tourzel.  The  Dauphin 
was  disguised  as  a  girl,  and  he  and  his  sister 
figured   as   Madame   de   Korff 's  children.^ 

It  was  in  Madame  de  Korff's  name,  too,  that 
Fersen  had  caused  to  be  constructed  a  comfortable 
travelling-coach  that  was  waiting  for  the  party  at 
the  Porte  St.  Martin.  Opinions,  even  of  eye-wit- 
nesses, differ  as  to  whether  or  not  there  was  any- 
thing unusual  in  its  appearance.^  That  it  would 
have  been  wiser  to  go  in  separate  vehicles  is  un- 
doubted. Monsieur  and  Monsieur's  wife  escaped 
without  difficulty  that  same  night  in  common 
-fiacres.  But  Marie  Antoinette  had  positively 
refused   to   divide   her   little   party. 

A  greater  disadvantage  even  than  the  size  and 
appearance  of  the  coach  was  the  fact  that,  after 
the  first  halting-place,  Bondy,  where  Fersen  quitted 
them,  there  was  no  cool,  clear-headed  person  left 
with  the  fugitives.  Bouille  had  arranged  that  one 
of  his  officers,  D'Agoult,  should  ride  in  the  coach; 

»  Fournier,  114  ff. 

» Bouill^  (Comte  Louis  de),  94,  speaks  of  the  lourdeur  of  the  coach 
and  of  its  forme  singuliere. 


Flight  179 

but  Madame  do  Tourzcl  would  have  had  to  cede 
her  place,  and  this,  that  "female  Cerberus,"  as  the 
Revolutions  de  Paris  once  called  her,  utterly  refused 
to  do.  The  etiquette  of  the  court  of  France 
required  her  to  remain  with  the  children!'  Eti- 
quette of  the  court  of  France!  The  question  was 
whether  or  not  there  should  ever  again  be  a  court  of 
France.  Louis  XVI  could  not  be  firm  even  with 
a  Aladame  de  Tourzel!  The  actual  progress  of 
the  flight  with  the  questions  incidental  to  it  ^  does 
not  concern  us  here  so  much  as  its  effect  on  public 
opinion  in  Paris. 

The  flight  was  discovered  at  daybreak  and  soon 
the  cry  spread,  "The  King  is  gone!"  Crowds 
rushed  into  the  Tuileries  and  wreaked  their  venge- 
ance on  inanimate  objects.  The  Queen's  hat, 
we  are  told,  was  trampled  under  foot;  her  bed  was 
taken  possession  of  by  a  vendor  of  cherries;  the 
King's  portrait  was  mocked  at  and  insulted. 
Meanwhile  the  city  gates  were  closed,  the  tocsin 
or  alarm  bell  was  rung,  cannon  were  fired  at  ten- 
minute  intervals  so  as  to  spread  the  news  and  "tell 
the    executive    power    to    return    to    his    post."-* 

'  Bouilld  (Comte  Louis  de),  92-93. 

*  Oscar  Browning  in  "The  Flight  to  Varennes  and  Other  Essays" 
!)CTatcs  Carlylc*  for  mistaking  tlie  disUincc  tra\X'lle<l,  and  then  jjm- 
cctxls  to  mistake  it  himself.  It  was  not  sixty-nine  miles,  nor  yet  150 
miles:  it  was  alxjut  128  miles.  In  reducing  leagues  to  miles,  Browning 
must  have  overlooked  the  difTerence  Ixjtween  the  common  league,  <>r 
lieur  communr,  and  the  fxjsting  league,  or  liene  de  paste.  Tlie  former 
e<|uals  2.76  miles,  the  latter  2.422  miles.  .Now  Bouilk-  s;iys  expressly 
in  Cfjnncction  with  his  mapping-out  of  the  rtiutc  that  he  is  calculating 
in  [josling  leagues.     See  his  letter  in  Fersen,  i.,  122. 

»  The  Frutllf  Villaf>eoisr,  the  Dfhats  el  Drcrets,  and  tlie  Rh'olutions  de 
Pans  all  give  vivid  accounts  of  these  ha])|K-nings. 


i8o  The  French  Revolution 

Couriers  were  despatched  to  every  department  to 
urge  the  arrest  of  persons  trying  to  leave  France. 
The  Assembly  itself  assumed  the  executive  power, 
giving  its  commands  to  the  ministers  as  well  as  to 
the  municipal  authorities,  and  appropriating  a 
large  sum  of  money,  twenty-eight  millions,  from 
the  Treasury.  As  Abbe  Gregoire  remarked,  "If 
the  heavens  should  fall,  they  would  strike  men  who 
were  dauntless."  All  necessary  measures  taken, 
the  Assembly  passed  calmly  to  the  order  of  the  day, 
and  ' '  a  stranger  would  scarcely  have  suspected  the 
fatal  event  that  threatened  France  with  a  new 
revolution. "  The  shops  opened,  Paris  went  about 
its  business  as  usual.  "No  one  would  have 
thought  he  was  looking  on  a  nation  without  a 
head."^ 

Louis  XVI  had  left  a  declaration;  it  may  still 
be  read  in  the  Archives.  As  the  result  of  all  his 
efforts  and  all  his  sacrifices,  he  had  seen  religion 
profaned,  the  throne  debased,  crime  unpunished. 
He  protests  against  all  the  decrees  he  has  been 
forced  to  sanction,  complains  of  the  sins  com- 
mitted against  him — that  Necker  had  been  more 
applauded  than  himself;  that  the  Tuileries  is  an 
uncomfortable  place  of  residence;  that  twenty-five 
million  a  year  is  not  sufficient ;  that  his  queen  was 
in  danger  on  October  6th  and  his  guards  were  mas- 
sacred; that  violence  had  been  employed  against 
him  on  February  28th  and  on  April  iSth;  that 
he  has  been  shorn  of  his  prerogatives;  that  the 
Jacobin  Club  dominates  everything. 

'  Feuille  Villageoise. 


Flio^ht  i8i 

The  Assembly  received  all  this  with  equanimity, 
and  took  a  calm  and  lofty  attitude.  It  vowed  to 
defend  the  country  against  internal  as  well  as 
external  enemies  and  to  die  rather  than  suffer  the 
invasion  of  French  territory  by  foreign  troops- 
That,  of  course,  was  the  danger  that  was  most 
imminent.  An  address  was  sent  to  the  provinces 
declaring  that  conspirators  and  slaves  would  now 
learn  to  know  the  intrepidity  of  the  founders  of 
French  liberty.' 

The  session  had  just  ended  and  all  were  in  this 
exalted  mood  when,  from  without,  growing  louder 
and  louder,  was  heard  the  roar  of  a  great  disturb- 
ance. There  were  shouts  and  bursts  of  applause, 
and  above  it  all  could  soon  be  distinguished  the 
words,  "The  King  is  taken!"  A  surgeon  from 
Varennes  who  had  been  riding  post-haste  since  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  then  presented  himself 
before  the  Assembly.  He  reported  how,  late  at 
night, ^  a  carriage  with  couriers  and  some  hussars 
had  entered  Varennes;  how  the  postmaster  of  St. 
MenehouM  had  followed  and  unfolded  his  sus- 
picions; how  the  coach  had  been  stopped  at  the 
point  of  the  pistol  and  the  travellers  forced  to 
alight ;  how,  within  an  hour,  four  thousand  National 
Guards  had  assembled  and  the  whole  countryside 
had  been  aroused.  The  As.sembly  thereupon  de- 
.spatched  deputies — P6tion,  Barnave,  and  Latour- 
Maubourg — to  escort  the  fugitives  back  to  the 
capital. 

Then  the  legislators  relaxed.     A  military  band 

'  Dftfoti  fl  Pfereis.  June  22<1.  '  In  n-.ility  it  was  not  so  late. 


1 82 


The  French  Revolution 


was  called  in  and  played  airs  which  "mingled  an  air 
of  gaiety  with  prof ounder  sentiments. ' '  And  what 
was  the  air  that  won  the  most  applause?  None 
other  than  that  old  vulgar  popular  song  that  the 
bandmaster  had  refused  to  play  at  the  banquet 
given  in  Versailles  to  the  regiment  of  Flanders, 
"Where  is  one  better  off  than  in  the  bosom  of  one's 


^^:m'^\ 


.\S9iCi3«AT    OE  L*   CRJ;aT 


,3M4IW 


death  ^f^i^ZffiT  1  -:■). 


*^*i 


S   S  I    G    jN    a     i  u  ,11.  '^iJ  -  !   J-    J  L  i^-j  ^VZIJA^J 

^l.  sera  pnye  au  VorUur  la  .^omm&ci,?    CfUatreTYm^t-clix  J'nM-fVS   /:  ,> 
I  Extraordijiiijre,  corformcinant.  «"'J?OTfei!^Ste(a»G  c'   j--  .'vru,  ;'.i  S,'plcnil'rc  1790. 


■Arni.-vr\(  i-fjix  nv 


.^O';  ;■;  ::''G--/g^-M^I 


Plate  84.     A  facsimile  of  an  assignat  with  the  portrait  of  Louis  XVI.     This 

one  purports  to  have  been  issued  the  day  before  the  flight,  but  is 

officially  stamped  a  forgery. 

family?"  At  last,  worn  out  by  their  long  vigils, 
the  deputies,  as  well  as  a  number  of  National 
Guards,  stretched  themselves  out  on  the  hard 
benches  and  sought  rest  in  slumber.  But  in  one 
of  them  at  least  there  still  lingered  the  spirit  of  fun. 
The  sound  of  a  bell  was  heard  and  the  deputies 
started  up  in  alarm.  It  was  a  practical  joke  on  the 
part  of  the  funny  deputy.  But  we  have  it  on  the 
assurance  of  the  Dehats  et  Decrets  that ' '  all  laughed 
at  the  little  pleasantry."     It  was  another  proof 


Flight  183 

that  "every^thing  can  readily  be  made  a  source  of 
joy  if  only  joy  abides  in  the  soul.'" 

On  June  24th,  the  postmaster  of  St.  Menehould 
appeared  and  told  his  tale.  He  also  provoked  the 
members  to  merriment.  He  told  how  he  had 
recognised  the  King  from  his  likeness  on  an  assig- 
nat'  and  the  Queen  from  having  seen  her  before; 
how  he  and  a  certain  Guillaume  had  chased  them 
by  short  cuts  to  Varennes  and  had  barred  the 
route  by  overturning  an  ox-cart ;  how,  after  the  ar- 
rest, hussars  had  ridden  up  and  demanded  the 
King's  release,  but  how  cannon  had  been  called  for 
and  so  placed  that  the  hussars  would  be  between 
two  fires.  "They  still  insisted,  and  when  they 
threatened  to  shoot  at  us  I  called,  'Cannoneers, 
to  your  places,  quick-match  in  hand!'  I  have  the 
honour  to  observe  to  you,  sirs,  that  there  was 
nothing  in  the  cannon!"  "Applause,"  writes  the 
Dcbats  ct  Dccrcts,  "had  frequently  interrupted 
the  orator;  here  bursts  of  laughter  mingled  with 
the  applause." 

The  coach  had  reached  Chalons  in  safety,  but 
far  behind  the  scheduled  time.  From  that  time 
on  there  had  been  one  long  series  of  blunders  and 
misunderstandings.  Choiseul,  commanding  the 
detachment  at  Pont  de  Sommevelle,  had  despaired 
of  the  game  too  soon  and  sent  word  which  flew 
from  post  to  post  that  the  royal  party  was  no 
hmgcr  to  be  expected.  In  Varennes  itself  there 
might  easily  have  been  a  rescue  but  for  further  mis- 
understandings.    A    body    of    dragot^is    heard    a 

•  Sec  p.  140.  '  riaU;  84,  p.  182. 


1 84 


The  French  Revolution 


distant  disturbance  without  suspecting  that  it  was 
caused  by  the  stopping  of  the  King's  coach. ' 

We  have  a  representation  of  the  return  from 
Varennes^  which  is  difficult  to  classify.     The  plight 


Plate  85.     A  representation  of  the  return  from  Varennes  of  the  royal 
family  under  escort  of  National  Guards. 

of  the  royal  family  was  so  wretched  that  it  could 
scarcely  have  been  exaggerated.  The  journey 
took  three  days  and  the  whole  route  was  lined  with 
spectators  for  the  most  part  hostile.  Was  it  from 
a  fellow-feeling  for  their  condition  that  Louis  as  he 
passed  the  jail  of  St.  Menehould  handed  a  purse 
of  gold  to  the  mayor  for  the  benefit  of  the  prison- 
ers?    At  Chalons  there  was  some  show  of  loyalty 

'  Carlyle  follows  Choiseul's  narrative  and  that  of  the  elder  Bouill6 
both  of  whom,  of  course,  try  to  extenuate  their  own  conduct.  He  seems 
to  have  been  ignorant  of  the  younger  Bouille's  narrative. 

'  Plate  85,  above. 


Flight  185 

but  not  the  least  attempt  at  rescue.  Elsewhere 
there  were  threats  of  violence,  shaking  of  fists,  and 
attempts  to  spit  in  the  King's  face.  It  seemed  at 
one  time  as  though  the  royal  pair  would  never 
reach  Paris  alive.' 

On  the  Mame,  near  Port  a  Binson,  the  commis- 
sioners from  the  National  Assembly  met  the  cap- 
tives. Barnave  took  his  place  in  the  coach  between 
the  King  and  Queen;  Petion  sat  between  Madame 
de  Tourzel  and  Madame  Elizabeth.  Petion  has 
left  an  extraordinary  account  in  his  own  hand- 
writing of  the  remainder  of  the  journey.  He 
describes  the  conversation  as  "cackling,"  and  has 
the  vanity  to  think  that  Madame  Elizabeth,  one 
of  the  few  real  saints  of  the  Revolution,  has  suc- 
cumbed to  a  passion  for  him  and  has  been  unable 
to  refrain  from  little  affectionate  pressures  of  the 
arms.  Barnave,  on  the  other  hand,  really  does 
seem  to  have  been  affected  by  the  proximity  of 
Marie  Antoinette,  and  a  little  later  made  such 
efforts  on  her  behalf  that  he  was  bitterly  satirized 
as  a  double-faced  man.^ 

What  a  scene  was  that  entry  into  Paris!  The 
whole  city  had  come  out  to  the  Champs  Elysees 
to  meet  its  humiliated  royal  family.  The  balcon- 
ies, the  roofs  of  the  houses,  even  the  very  trees 
swarmed  with  people.  The  cortege  entered  by  the 
Porte  Chaillot,  and  then  passed  down  the  Champs 
Elys6cs  to  the  Place  Louis  Quinze  and  the  Tuiler- 
ics.-'     There   were   no   less  than    thirty   thousand 

'  Ix-nfttrc's  Drame  dr  Vnrrnnr\  t»ivcK  nianv  '<m.ill  ili-f.iils. 

•  Plate  86,  p.  187.  '  OowcT,  99. 


1 86  The  French  Revolution 

National  Guards  in  line  and  they  had  with  them 
sixteen  cannon.  The  coach  was  followed  by  car- 
riages containing  the  heroes  of  the  day — Maugin, 
who  had  brought  the  first  news  of  the  capture,  and 
Drouet  and  Guillaume.  Placards  on  the  walls 
had  warned  the  people  under  heavy  penalties 
neither  to  applaud  nor  to  insult  the  captives,  and 
the  silence  was  broken  only  by  occasional  cries  of 
* '  Petion ! " ,  "  Barnave ! "  as  they  passed  along.  No 
hats  were  raised  to  the  King  or  Queen. 

The  irrepressible  gamins  of  Paris,  indeed,  caused 
smiles  that  were  not  of  disapproval  when  it  was 
found  that  they  had  climbed  up  on  the  great  eques- 
trian statue  of  Louis  XV,  had  first  bandaged  the 
statue's  eyes,  then  pretended,  as  the  cortege  was 
passing,  to  wipe  away  the  tears  the  old  King  must 
be  supposed  to  be  weeping  at  the  sight  of  his 
humiliated  grandson.'  On  the  walls  were  witty 
placards  too,  such  as  ''Lost,  a  King  and  Queen. 
A  reward  is  offered  for  not  finding  them.  "^ 

Just  before  reaching  the  Tuileries,  there  was  a 
disturbance,  which  Petion  declares  threatened  to 
become  a  massacre.  But  he  relates  how  majestic- 
ally he  himself  quelled  it,  how  he  "commanded 
with  an  authority  that  imposed,"  and  how  even 
the  mere  mention  of  his  name  worked  like  a  charm. 

A  deputation  from  the  Assembly  received  the 
King  at  the  palace.  "I  promise  never  to  do  it 
again!"  he  is  said  to  have  remarked  to  them.  He 
wished  the  deputation  to  thank  the  Assembly  and 
to  explain  that  he  had  gone  away  quite  against  his 

'  Revolutions  de  Paris,  No.  10-5.        '  Feuille  Villageoise,  June  30th. 


p 


^^aRnkve.  , 


/    i 


Plate  86.     Bamave  rqjrt-scntctJ  as  a  double -faced  man 

because  of  his  frii-ndliness  to  the  Kiiif;  and  Queen 

after  the  flight  to  VarenneS. 


187 


1 88  The  French  Revolution 

own  will.  He  was  later  to  make  other  and  more 
exhaustive  explanations. 

By  a  decree  of  the  Assembly/  the  King,  the 
Queen,  and  the  Dauphin  were  each  to  have  a 
special  guard,  and  all  lesser  persons  concerned  in 
the  flight  were  to  be  regularly  imprisoned.  Fer- 
sen,  indeed,  after  leaving  the  party  at  Bondy,  had 
escaped  across  the  frontier. 

The  Queen  had  to  suffer  the  humiliation  of  being 
allowed  no  privacy  whatever^;  but  she  was  still 
hopeful  and  courageous.  She  managed  to  de- 
spatch a  letter  to  Fersen  which  was  later  found 
among  his  effects.^ 

I  exist.  How  anxious  I  have  been  about  you  and  how 
I  pity  you  for  all  you  suffer  in  having  no  news  from  us! 
Heaven  grant  that  this  reach  you!  Do  not  write  me.  It 
would  be  too  great  a  risk  for  us.  And  above  all  do  not 
come  back  under  any  consideration.  It  is  known  that  you 
got  us  away  from  here;  if  you  were  to  appear  all  would  be 
lost.  We  are  guarded  day  and  night.  That  is  a  matter  of 
indifference  to  me.  Be  reassured,  nothing  will  be  done  to 
me.  The  Assembly  means  to  deal  gently  with  us.  Adieu. 
I  shall  not  be  able  to  write  to  you  again. 

Bouille  meanwhile  had  hurled  a  terrific  defiance 
at  the  Assembly,  speaking  of  "all  the  crimes  you 
have  committed  or  sanctioned  during  these  two 
years,"  and  of  "the  anarchy  of  which  you  have 
made  a  regular  system."  He  declares  that  if  a 
hair  of  the  head  of  the  King  or  Queen  is  injured, 
he  will  lead  the  foreign  armies  against  Paris  and 
annihilate  it  utterly. 

'  Duvergier,  iii.,  64.  » Revolutions  de  Paris,  No.  103- 

3  Fersen,  i.,  152. 


Flight 


189 


We  have  a  satirical  representation'  on  the 
theme  of  the  penance  the  royal  pair  are  presumed 
to  have  performed  after  the  return  from  their  ill- 
starred  expedition.  They  are  kneeling  at  an  altar 
which  is  consecrated  to  the  law  and  the  nation.    In 


V  k.-fif^f  n  a   po/3 


mca  m 


dxuna.  culaa 


Plate  87.     A  satire  on  the  failure  of  the  attempted  flight  to  Varcnncs.      Tlic 
King  is  pleading  for  mercy,  the  Queen  is  beating  her  breast  and  cr>ing 

"My  fault,  all  my  fault!" 

front  of  it  is  a  cock,  emblem  of  the  French  vigilance 
that  has  not  permitted  them  to  make  good  their 
escape.  Behind  Louis  are  bottles,  which  must 
mean  to  imply  that  he  drinks.  With  clasped  hands 
the  King  is  supplicating,  "Have  mercy  on  me,  oh 
my  people,  according  to  thy  great  mercy."  But 
the  Queen  is  beating  her  breast  and  shrieking,  "  My 
fault!     iMy  fault!     All  my  fault!" 

«  Plate  87,  alx)ve. 


CHAPTER  VI 


PROBATION 


THE  flight  of  her  hereditary  monarch  was  a 
more  serious  matter  to  France  than  would 
at  first  appear.  To  be  sure,  Louis  XVI  was 
not  the  kind  of  man  with  whom  it  would  have  been 
difficult  to  dispense.  But  his  crossing  the  frontier 
would  have  meant  civil  war,  and  in  his  parting 
declaration  he  had  scorned  the  Constitution  on 
which  the  representatives  had  been  at  work  for 
two  years.  That  Constitution  had  taken  ac- 
count of  him,  the  King,  at  every  turn.  It  would 
therefore  be  worthless  in  his  absence. 

Not  that  there  was  anything  in  the  Constitution 
to  prevent  a  simple  change  of  residence.  It  would 
have  been  wise  of  Louis  to  have  followed  Mira- 
beau's  advice  and  gone  openly  and  with  head  high 
to  Fontainebleau  or  some  other  neighbouring 
town.  But  this  slipping  away  in  the  night  leaving 
none  who  could  serve  as  hostage,  this  being  caught 
and  brought  back  like  naughty  truants,  these  lame 
attempts  at  explanation:  was  there  any  chance 
that  the  wound  thus  caused  should  ever  really  heal  ? 

Yet  Barnave   pleaded   eloquently  that   all  be 

^  Point  du  Jour,  No.  737:  July  17th. 

190 


Probation  191 

forgotten  and  forgiven,  that  the  Revokition  stop 
right  there:  "Enough  that  we  have  destroyed 
what  needed  destruction.  A  continuance  may 
sweep  away  all  the  good  you  have  accomplished. " 

The  battle  raged  in  the  Assembly  and  also  in 
the  Jacobin  Club  with  fierce  intensity.  Some 
maintained  that  by  the  terms  of  the  Constitution 
the  King's  person  was  inviolable  and  that  therefore 
he  was  immune  from  any  consequences.  "So," 
answered  Petion,  "a  king  may  slaughter  men  like 
sheep,  may  devastate  his  country  with  fire  and 
flame,  may  be  a  Caligula,  a  Nero — and  all  for 
the  greater  glory  of  God  and  happiness  of  man! 
But  we  must  respect  his  bloody  and  atrocious  in- 
clinations!" '  Vadier  hurled  the  epithet  at  Lotiis 
of  "crowned  brigand." 

The  flight  had  brought  the  idea  of  a  republic 
very  much  into  prominence.  For  more  than  two 
months  France  managed  very  well  without  her 
hereditary  monarch.  But  few  were  ready  to  face 
a  complete  change  in  the  form  of  government. 
Even  Robespierre,  the  leaden-coloured  deputy 
from  Arras  who  was  no  friend  of  kings,  declared 
that  he  feared  the  reign  of  faction — perhaps  he 
saw  that  his  own  faction  as  yet  had  no  chance  of 
predominating. 

It  was  finally  determined  to  complete  the  Con- 
stitution, revise  some  of  its  clauses,  and  then  say 
to  Louis  XV] ,  "  Will  you  accept  this  document  and 
loyally  execute  its  provisions,  or  will  you  cease  to 
be  our  king?" 

•  I'mnt  du  Jour,]\x\y  14,  17^1. 


192  The  French  Revolution 

Passions  ran  too  high  indeed  for  the  matter  to 
be  so  peacefully  settled.  A  petition  opposing  this 
solution  of  it  was  drawn  up  in  the  Jacobin  Club  and 
laid  on  the  altar  of  the  fatherland  for  all  to  sign. 
It  recounted  the  crimes  of  the  King  and  called  for 
a  new  executive  power.  On  July  17th  there  was 
rioting  around  the  very  altar  where  a  year  before 
there  had  been  such  rejoicings  in  the  name  of  Fra- 
ternity. Liberty,  Equality,  Fraternity — all  were 
to  end  in  the  same  way :  Liberty  in  worse  despotism 
than  ever  before ;  Equality  in  the  uppermost  being 
crushed  under  the  heel  of  the  nethermost ;  Fratern- 
ity in  the  proclaiming  of  martial  law  and  the  firing 
on  the  mob  by  the  National  Guards.  Martial  law 
prevailed  for  the  moment'  but  the  memory  of  a 
mob  is  long,  as  Mayor  Bailly,  he  who  had  ordered 
the  red  flag  to  be  unfurled,  was  later  to  experience. 

Marat  declared  that  this  episode  of  the  Champ 
de  Mars  had  caused  an  ''infernal  gulf"  to  yawn 
between  the  bourgeoisie  [as  represented  by  the  Na- 
tional Guards]  and  the  democrats  [as  represented 
by  himself  and  his  followers].  The  Jacobin  Club 
was  rent  asunder  and  a  part  split  off  into  the  more 
moderate  club  of  the  Feuillants.  But  for  the 
most  part  the  affiliated  societies  in  the  country 
districts  remained  loyal  to  the  mother  club. 

We  have  a  representation  of  the  affair  on  the 
Champ  de  Mars  which  cannot  have  been  greatly 
exaggerated.^  On  the  whole,  the  party  that  had 
stood  for  order  was  for  the  moment  high  in  the 

'Report  of  the  Municipality,  Point  du  Jour,  July  17th.  See  also 
Aulard,  Histoire  Politique,  148.  ^  Plate  88,  p.  193. 


13 


193 


194  The  French  Revolution 

ascendant,  and  it  was  a  sad  time  for  demagogues 
like  Marat,  Robespierre,  and  Danton.  This  atti- 
tude is  reflected  in  the  conservative  manner  in 
which  the  revision  of  the  Constitution  was  carried 
to  its  completion.  One  exception,  indeed,  was 
the  abandoning  of  the  requirement  that  a  man  to 
be  eligible  for  the  position  of  deputy  must  be  a 
taxpayer  to  the  amount  at  least  of  a  mark  of  silver. 

We  have  a  caricature  that  must  have  been 
issued  during  the  debates  on  this  latter  subject 
and  that  is  entitled  "The  future  legislator."^ 
The  face  is  covered  with  a  mask  of  silver  that 
makes  all  men  look  as  much  alike  as  though  they 
were  door-knockers.  On  the  margin  are  the 
words:  "Tell  me  yourself:  in  the  age  in  which  we 
live,  is  it  by  weight,  forsooth,  that  men  are  mea- 
sured?" And  below  are  rhymes  to  the  same  effect. 
Brains  do  not  matter,  it  is  only  a  question  of  being 
worth  a  mark  of  silver! 

On  the  third  of  September,  1791,  the  Assembly 
formally  declared  the  Constitution  completed, 
and  a  delegation  of  deputies  carried  the  document 
to  the  King  in  the  Tuileries.  After  devoting  ten 
days  to  its  consideration,  Louis  declared  that  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  accept  and  carry  out  its 
provisions. 

And  what  was  the  real  attitude  of  those  who  so 
long  had  sat  in  half-imprisonment  within  the  walls 
of  their  own  palace;  or  rather  what  was  the  atti- 
tude of  the  woman  who  served  as  the  King's  right 
hand?     We  have  unpardonable  letters  of  Marie 

'  Plate  89,  p.  195. 


LIUtlSLAlKlU  Fl  TUR 

(  tna  et  tiwi/t  v  fi  w/  nn. , 


Plate  89.     A  satirical  representation  calK-»l  the  "  The  Future 

Legislator,"  an<l  ilirecled  against  the  ri-<iuirenienl  tliat  a 

dejiuty  to  be  eligil)!e  must  pay  taxes.     The  mark  of 

silver  destroys  all  individuality. 


•95 


196  The  French  Revolution 

Antoinette  to  show  how  deeply  she  involved  her 
husband  in  a  policy  of  ruse  and  deception.  It  was 
all  her  doing.  Louis  XVI  is  evidently  not  in 
sympathy  with  all  of  her  projects:  "You  know  the 
person  I  have  to  deal  with, "  she  writes  to  her  old 
mentor,  Mercy  d'Argenteau;  "just  as  one  thinks 
one  has  persuaded  him,  a  word,  an  argument, 
makes  him  unsuspectingly  change  his  mind.'" 
But  she  wishes  it  to  be  known  that  one  person  at 
least  is  looking  out  for  the  dignity  of  the  family: 
"Never  will  I  consent  to  anything  unworthy  of 
myself,"  she  writes.  "...  It  is  in  misfortune 
that  one  realizes  all  the  more  what  one  is.  My 
blood  runs  in  the  veins  of  my  son  and  I  hope  that 
some  day  he  will  prove  himself  a  worthy  grandson 
of  Maria  Theresa!" 

She  has  some  slight  glimmering  that  the  course 
of  action  she  is  planning  may  not,  indeed,  be  quite 
worthy  of  herself:  "It  is  impossible, "  she  writes, 
"for  the  King  to  refuse  his  acceptance.  You  must 
believe  me  when  I  say  that  this  is  the  case.  You 
know  my  character  and  that  it  inclines  me  to  a 
noble  and  courageous  way  of  acting.  But  there 
is  no  courage  in  running  into  a  more  than  certain 
danger.     So  our  last  hope  is  in  the  foreign  armies. " 

Marie  Antoinette  prevaricates  in  every  word 
and  act.  At  the  suggestion  of  Bamave,  Duport, 
and  Lameth,  she  writes  and  urges  her  brother  to 
make  an  alliance  with  revolutionary  France;  she 
declares  that  she  herself  has  experienced  a  change 
of  heart.     Then  she  follows  this  by  secret  denials, 

;    '  Lettres  de  Marie  Antoinette  (La  Rocheterie),  ii.,  275  flf. 


I'laif  yo.      /\n  allegorical  rtprcsentation  of  the  ac(x;ptancc  of  the  Constitution 

\yy  Louis  XVI.     The  faces  seem  to  be  actual  likenesses.     The  republic 

personified  is  being  driven  from  the  hall  by  cupids  with  whips. 


197 


198  The  French  Revolution 

by  complaint  that  she  is  coerced  into  writing  what 
her  enemies  require,  by  requests  for  ostensible 
replies  which  she  can  show  to  those  around  her. 
She  calls  the  Constitution  which  her  husband, 
before  God  and  man,  is  about  to  swear  to  maintain, 
"a  tissue  of  impracticable  absurdities."  She  means, 
however,  to  pursue  such  a  course  of  action  "as 
will  remove  all  suspicion  of  us  and  at  the  same  time 
serve  to  outwit  them  [the  Assembly]  and  over- 
throw at  the  very  first  opportunity  the  monstrous 
production  we  have  to  adopt. " 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  see  Marie  Antoinette  so 
vindictive.  In  December,  1791,  she  confides  to 
Fersen'  that  she  thinks  on  the  whole  the  role  she 
is  obliged  to  play  all  day  long  is  succeeding;  but 
for  her,  things  would  be  much  worse.  She  con- 
cludes with  ' '  what  happiness  if  I  could  only  regain 
sufficient  power  to  show  all  these  beggars  [ces 
gueux]  that  I  was  not  their  dupe!" 

It  all  sounded  so  noble  and  spontaneous,  this 
spurious  acceptance  of  the  King's,  with  its  naive 
admissions,  its  bursts  of  confidence,  its  loyal 
appeals.  They  produced,  we  are  told,  "a  most 
acute  and  tender  impression!"  The  acceptance 
was  made  in  writing  and  orally.  In  a  letter  Louis 
analysed  his  own  feelings;  told  his  reasons  for 
taking  flight  and  how  greatly  things  had  since  al- 
tered for  the  better:  "1  must  tell  you,  if  you  had 
presented  to  me  the  Constitution  at  that  juncture, 
I  should  not  have  considered  that  the  interests  of 
the  people,  my  sole  and  constant  rule  of  conduct, 

'  Fersen,  ii.,  267. 


Probation  199 

permitted  of  its  acceptance."  But  now!  Well, 
there  might  be  some  flaws  in  the  Constitution, 
but  if  there  were,  time  would  easily  reveal  and 
remedy  them. 

WTien  he  appeared  in  the  Assembly  on  Septem- 
ber 14th,  Louis  found  the  members  well  disposed  to 
him.  We  have  an  allegorical  representation  of 
this  formal  and  public  acceptance.'  One  hand  on 
his  heart,  Louis  is  pointing  with  the  other  to  the 
constitutional  document.  A  crowned  figure  that 
looks  very  much  like  Marie  Antoinette  is  doing  like- 
wise from  the  other  side  and  her  free  hand  rests  on 
the  shoulder  of  a  deputy  who  somewhat  resembles 
Robespierre.  Or  it  may  be  France,  leaning  on  her 
representative  and  proferring  the  Constitution  to 
the  King.  To  the  left  we  see  another  crowned 
figure,  bearing  a  bundle  of  fagots,  emblem  of  a 
repubHc,  and  taking  to  wild  flight  chased  by  angry 
cupids.  One  of  the  cupids  seems  to  have  the 
British  lion  on  his  shield.  All  the  spectators  are  in 
diff"erent  attitudes  of  ecstasy.  Beneath  is  the 
oath  that  Louis  took :  "  I  swear  to  be  faithful  to  the 
nation  and  to  the  law,  to  employ  all  the  power 
delegated  to  me  in  maintaining  the  Constitution 
decreed  by  the  National  Constituent  Assembly  in 
the  years  1789,  1790,  and  1791,  and  to  sec  that  the 
laws  are  executed." 

I^oth  the  English  and  the  vSwcdish  ambassadors,' 
whf)  (){ ccnirse  were  present,  record  a  significant  little 
episode.  While  Louis  was  reading  his  speech  it 
occurred  to  the  deputies,  who  had  remained  stand- 

'Platc90.  p.  197.  '(lower anil  Slat^l-Holstcin. 


200  The  French  Revolution 

ing,  that  it  was  beneath  their  dignity  to  continue 
in  that  attitude  of  respect.  Obeying  a  signal  of  one 
of  their  number,  they  all  sat  down.  Louis,  however, 
showed  unusual  courage  and  presence  of  mind. 
Without  interrupting  his  reading,  he,  too,  took  a 
chair,  a  proceeding  which,  strange  to  say,  called 
forth  rapturous  applause.  ' '  This  instance, ' '  writes 
Stael-Holstein,  "should  have  taught  him  that  if 
throughout  the  Revolution  he  had  shown  the  proper 
feeling  of  what  was  due  to  himself  he  would  have 
rendered  dutiful  those  who  have  most  abused  his 
weakness."  ^ 

The  occasion  ended  with  joyful  demonstrations, 
the  whole  Assembly  escorting  the  King  back  to  the 
Tuileries  amid  strains  of  music  and  salvos  of 
artillery. 

Marie  Antoinette  was  not  altogether  happy, 
as  we  can  see  from  her  letters  to  Fersen.^  She 
acknowledges  that  it  would  have  been  nobler  to 
refuse  the  acceptance,  but  declares  that,  in  their 
actual  situation,  such  a  course  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. She  wishes  the  acceptance  could  have  been 
shorter  and  simpler;  evidently  the  long  mockery 
had  jarred  on  her  nerves.  It  had  been  necessary, 
however,  to  remove  every  doubt  of  its  not  being  in 
good  faith.  She  is  confident  that  so  soon  as  the 
Constitution  is  put  in  practice  all  its  absurdities 
will  be  made  manifest :  ' '  the  farther  we  go  and  the 
more  these  beggars  feel  their  misery  the  sooner  they 
may  themselves  come  to  desire  the  foreigners." 
Meanwhile,   there  have  been   kindly  demonstra- 

'  Page  235.  »  Fersen,  i.,  192. 


Probation 


201 


tions  towards  her,  but  she  steels  her  heart.     One 
might  be  touched  by  them  ' '  if  one  were  not  forced 


iJ£/uu-  tu  /li   £ettt,  /'*  t-4 


Plate  91.      A  cartoon  intcTKltfl  to  show  un<liT  what  constraint 
Louis  XVI  liad  sanctioned  the  Constitution. 


t(j  remember  that  these  were  the  same  people  who 
in.sulted  us  two  months  ago  and  who  can  be  swayed 
at  will." 


202  The  French  Revolution 

Louis  had  acted  under  constraint  in  signing  the 
Constitution:  that  was  now  the  watchword  of  all 
his  adherents.  We  have  an  amusing  cartoon^ 
where  he  is  shown  sitting  at  a  table,  pen  in  hand, 
inside  of  a  great  iron  cage.  Up  walks  the  Austrian 
Emperor  and  asks  in  astonishment,  ''Brother-in- 
law,  what  are  you  doing?"     "I  'm  sanctioning." 

And  this  foreign  sympathy  on  which  Louis  and 
Marie  Antoinette  had  so  fondly  based  their  hopes, 
to  what  did  it  amount?  Emperor  Leopold  did 
bestir  himself  in  a  mild  sort  of  way  on  his  sister's 
behalf,  but  he  had  shown  no  great  anxiety  to  fur- 
nish the  fifteen  million  francs  that  had  been  re- 
quested of  him  at  the  time  of  the  flight.^  He  did, 
indeed,  appeal  to  his  fellow-rulers  in  Europe  and 
suggest  forming  a  great  league.  He  was  met 
everywhere  either  by  refusals  or  by  empty  promises. 
It  is  true  the  annexation  by  France  of  Avignon — 
it  was  proclaimed  on  the  very  day  on  which  Louis 
XVI  publicly  accepted  the  Constitution — was  an 
alarming  symptom,  but  each  country  was  busy  with 
its  own  schemes,  and  Prussia  and  Austria  finally 
united  with  Saxony  in  a  declaration  at  Pillnitz  that 
was  merely  an  "august  comedy,"  to  quote  a 
contemporary.  The  three  powers  agreed  to  inter- 
vene in  French  affairs  if  they  could  be  certain 
that  the  rest  of  Europe  would  do  likewise.  By  that 
time  they  were  absolutely  certain  that  the  rest  of 
Europe  would  do  nothing  of  the  kind. 

'  Plate  91,  p.  201. 

'  For  these  foreign  relations,  see  Sorel,  L Europe  et  la  Revolution 
FrauQaise,  passim. 


Probation  203 

The  declaration  of  Pillnitz,  indeed,  was  not  to  be 
altogether  without  effect.  The  emigres  exploited 
it  in  an  open  letter  from  Coblenz  seeking  to  give 
the  impression  that  immense  foreign  armies  were 
at  once  to  fall  upon  France.  It  was  a  futile  means 
of  intimidation  but  interfered  with  the  plans  of 
Louis  XVI,  whose  policy,  as  we  have  seen,  was  to 
make  the  Revolutionists  believe  in  his  absolute 
sincerity.  It  was  natural  to  suspect  him  of  col- 
lusion with  his  brothers,  and  this  their  open  letter 
was  to  form  part  of  the  evidence  against  him  at 
Louis'  trial  before  the  revolutionary  tribunal. 

But  the  Revolutionists,  too,  were  disappointed, 
were  misled  by  the  enthusiasm  shown  in  foreign 
countries  for  the  first  great  popular  victories 
They  had  believed  that  these  enslaved  peoples 
would  rise  at  their  call  and  join  their  banners,  that 
no  one  could  long  remain  deaf  to  the  tones  of 
liberty.  We  have  a  cartoon '  showing  one  of  these 
supposed  slaves  in  the  very  act  of  hastening  to  the 
happy  land  where  youths  and  maidens  have 
nothing  to  do  but  dance  around  trees,  and  their 
elders  sit  at  tables  and  quaff  flowing  bowls.  \\c 
have  a  production  with  similar  tendency"  in  which 
an  Austrian  sentinel  stands  at  one  end,  a  French  at 
the  other,  of  a  bridge  that  spans  a  border  stream. 
The  elaborate  text  tells  us  that  "no  sooner  has 
our  sentinel  pointed  out  the  national  cockade  on 
his  hat  to  the  German  than  the  latter  lays  his  hand 
on  his  heart,  reverses  his  gun,  and  makes  known  his 
amicable  intentions  towards  a  free  nation." 

•  Plate 92.  p.  205.  '  I'latry.v  p.  206. 


204  The  French  Revolution 

But  for  some  reason  or  other  these  Hberated 
slaves  did  not  come  over  in  any  great  numbers. 
The  flagrant  violation  of  the  rights  of  property  in 
Alsace  where  the  abolition  of  feudalism  by  the 
decrees  of  August  4th  was  made  to  apply  to  the 
subjects  of  foreign  princes  as  well;  the  extreme 
radicalism  of  a  Camille  Desmoulins,  who  declared 
in  his  influential  journal'  that  international  law 
ought  to  be  treated  as  Martin  Luther  had  treated 
the  canon  law:  all  this  had  offended  subjects  as 
well  as  their  masters.  It  was  a  mere  delusion 
that  the  whole  world,  save  for  a  few  gangrened 
rulers,  was  hanging  breathless  on  the  happenings 
in  Paris.  The  National  Assembly  might  have 
spared  itself  the  expense  it  continually  incurred  of 
having  decrees  of  which  it  was  especially  proud 
translated  into  every  known  language.  The  hope 
of  having  liberty  prevail  the  world  over  was  as 
vain  as  the  boast  of  the  Comte  de  Provence  that 
he  would  enter  France  with  an  army  and  "subdue 
by  force  the  fanaticism  of  public  opinion."  Even 
Marie  Antoinette  speaks  of  the  "follies  of  the 
princes  and  emigres.'"  On  the  other  hand, 
she  is  utterly  mistaken  as  to  the  general  temper 
of  the  Revolutionists.  She  believes  that  they 
have  a  horrible  dread  of  foreign  invasion:  "fear 
crops  out  in  all  their  deeds  and  in  all  their 
words."  ^  Yet  she  herself  is  growing  politic.  At- 
rocious as  the  French  people  are,  she  writes  to  Fer- 
sen,  it  may  be  necessary  to  continue  to  live  with 
them;  so  she  must  be  careful  not  to  give  grounds 

'  The  Revolutions  de  Paris  et  de  Brabant.  ^  Lettres,  ii. ,  3 1 4. 


1  ri  itf  ilr  ia  Liberie 


H4    ''f.ttA^ 


yf%At  . 


n 


I  blc  92.     A  rcpresenlali(jn  of  a  foreiRncr  joyfully  quitting  the  land  of  slaves 
for  the  land  of  !il«rty  where  everytliing  is  gay  ami  joytnis. 


205 


206 


The  French  Revolution 


for  reproach  either  to  "those  here"  or  to  "those 
outside.'" 

A  cartoonist  gives  us  an  excellent  view  of  Louis 
XVI 's  exact  position  at  this  time.^     The  King  is 


Plate  93.     A  representation  showing  the  effect  wrought  upon  an  Austrian 

sfentinel  by  the  first  sight  of  the  French  national  cockade.     The 

Austrian  reverses  his  bayonet  and  places  his  hand 

upon  his  heart. 

dancing  on  a  tight-rope  and  trying  to  balance 
himself  with  a  pole  that  is  weighted  at  one  end 
with  the  Constitution,  at  the  other  with  a  cap 
containing  cornucopias  full  of  sweets.  The  crowd 
below  are  clamouring  for  the  sweets  and  causing 
the  pole  to  incline  very  much  in  their  direction. 
On  the  ground  are  cornucopias  that  have  already 


'  Lettres,  ii.,  321  (October  19,  1791). 


^  Plate 94,  p.  207. 


Probation 


207 


been  emptied.     "Look  out  for  false  Steps"  is  the 
inscription. 

Meanwhile,  the  Constituent  Assembly,  having 
completed  the  work  it  had  swoni  in  the  Tennis 
Court  to  perform,  prepared  to  give  place  to   the 


£ 


/icorr     ft//f 


'     /'''•'/      f'^//'/''       .///./'       /^ 


a//,  I  •       /\/:  'c 


(B\ 


Plate  94.     A  cartoon  showing  the  perilous  situation  of  Louis  XVI.     He  has 

handed  down  several  cornucopias  full  of  sweets  to  the  people  but 

they  are  calling  for  more. 


new  legislative  body  for  which  the  terms  of  the  Con- 
stitution provided.  The  members  were  in  a  kindly 
mood  towards:  this  king  who  was  now  so  humbled. 
They  requested  him  to  have  his  portrait  painted 
for  the  adornment  of  the  hall,  and  to  have  him.sclf 
represented  at  the  moment  of  telling  his  son  tliat 


2o8  The  French  Revolution 

he  has  accepted  the  Constitution.'  They  decreed 
a  form  of  ceremonial  to  be  observed  when  he  should 
appear  in  their  midst  for  the  final  closing  exercises 
that  was  altogether  respectful.''  The  members 
were  all  to  rise  as  the  King  entered ;  after  that  they 
were  to  be  guided  in  their  movements  by  him — to 
rise  or  sit,  to  keep  their  hats  on  or  take  them  off, 
according  as  he  should  give  the  example.  He  was 
to  sit  in  the  centre  of  the  platform  in  a  special 
arm-chair  covered  with  gold-embroidered  fleurs-de- 
lis,  and  no  one  was  to  presume  to  address  him 
without  an  express  decree  of  the  Assembly.  The 
president  of  that  body  was  to  sit  on  the  King's 
right  hand. 

On  September  30th,  interrupted  each  moment 
by  enthusiastic  applause,  Louis  XVI  bade  fare- 
well to  the  men  who  had  robbed  him  of  all  but 
the  merest  vestige  of  his  power.  There  was  the 
usual  emotion,  the  usual  hypocrisy.^  "Going 
back  to  your  homes,  sirs, "  Louis  said,  "  I  count  on 
your  being  the  interpreters  to  your  fellow-citizens 
of  the  uprightness  of  my  sentiments.  Tell  them 
each  and  all  that  their  king  will  be  their  best  and 
most  faithful  friend,  that  he  feels  the  need  of  their 
love,  that  he  cannot  be  happy  save  with  and  for 
them." 

"Your  Majesty,"  answered  the  president,  "has 
terminated  the  Revolution  by  your  so  loyal  and 
frank  acceptance  of  the  Constitution.  .  .  .     Your 

'  Debats  et  Decrets,  September  29,  1791. 

*  lb.,  and  also  Duvergier,  iii.,  457. 

3  See  Point  du  Jour,  September  30th,  for  the  speeches  of  farewell. 


Probation  209 

heart,  sire,  has  already  received  its  reward;  your 
Majesty  has  rejoiced  in  the  touching  spectacle 
of  the  joy  of  the  people."  The  King  withdrew, 
the  proccs  verbal  or  protocol  was  read,  it  was 
formally  declared  that  the  Assembly  had  completed 
its  labours.  Then  the  president  concluded:  "Let 
the  kings  of  the  eartli  tell  us  if  their  absolute  power 
can  give  joys  like  this,  if  their  beds  of  justice  and 
their  formal  audiences  have  ever  produced  such 
sweet  and  deep  emotions,  such  communion  of 
peoples  and  kings!" 

Louis  X\T  and  Marie  Antoinette  were  playing 
their  part  well.  They  went  about  as  if  free  from 
care — to  the  opera,  to  the  Comedie  Frangaise,  to 
the  municipal  fdtes.  They  illuminated  the  Tuile- 
ries,  they  interested  themselves  in  the  poor  of 
Paris,  sending  fifty  thousand  francs  to  the  mayor  to 
be  distributed  for  their  benefit.  ' '  It  seems  to  me, ' ' 
writes  the  Swedish  ambassador,  "that  the  conduct 
of  this  prince  would  be  incomprehensible  unless  he 
really  cherished  the  sentiments  he  seems  to  have 
adopted.  Force  can  tear  certain  responses  from 
one:  but  this  frequenting  of  the  opera  and  of  ])ul)- 
lic  places  in  search  of  applause  inspired  by  the 
acceptance  would  make  retraction  very  difTicult.  "' 


The  new  legislative  body  wliich  met  on  the  day 
after  the  disper.sal  of  the  old  one  was  far  less  friendly 
to  the  King.  It  was  made  up  largely  of  men  who.se 
whole  interests  were  hound  up  in  the  new  (mler  of 


•  Sta*l-HoLsUnn,  237. 
M 


210  The  French  Revolution 

things;  those  who  held  or  hoped  to  hold  offices 
in  the  communes, — barristers,  journalists,  rising 
authors.  They  were  all  new,  alas !  to  the  business 
of  governing,  for  the  Constituent  Assembly  had 
passed  a  self-denying  ordinance  which  prevented 
the  election  of  any  of  the  old  members. 

The  whole  number  of  deputies,  as  the  Constitu- 
tion had  directed,  was  745,  of  whom  160  were 
constitutional  royalists,  the  rest  being  about  equally 
divided  between  Jacobins  and  moderates  or  in- 
dependents.^ The  strongest  bond  of  union  was  a 
desire  to  see  that  the  executive  power  should  learn 
to  keep  its  place  and  not  imagine  it  was  in  any  way 
superior  to  the  legislative. 

The  King,  doubtless  to  test  his  strength,  endeav- 
oured to  fix  his  own  day  for  receiving  a  deputation 
from  the  Assembly,  but  then  yielded  the  point. 
On  October  5th,  Couthon,  the  crippled  henchman 
of  Robespierre,  was  carried  to  the  platform  and 
uttered  severe  words  against  Louis.  One  by  one 
other  attacks  followed.^  Grangeneuve  moved  the 
suppression  of  the  title  "Your  Majesty";  Guadet 
wished  the  president  of  the  Assembly  always  to 
be  admitted  to  the  King's  presence  ''without  having 
to  pass  through  the  antechambers  of  the  keeper  of 
the  seals. ' '  Then  the  question  came  up,  what  cere- 
monial should  be  observed  when  the  King  came 
to  the  Assembly?     One  deputy  thought  that  the 


'  Aulard  in  his  Eloquence  Parliamentaire  gives  the  Jacobin  patriots  as 
280,  the  extreme  left  as  20,  the  independents  as  300,  the  monarchists  as 
160.     But  that  would  make  760  members  in  all! 

*  Debats  et  Decrets,  October  5th. 


Probation  211 

members  ought  to  be  free  to  sit  or  stand  without 
awaiting  the  King's  pleasure.  As  if,  cried  another, 
**the  representatives  of  the  people  were  turning 
themselves  into  perfect  automatons  in  the  presence 
of  its  first  functionary  and  were  unable  to  act, 
think,  or  move,  except  as  willed  by  another."  A 
king,  declared  Guadet,  who  regulates  one's  bodily 
movements  will  soon  be  claiming  to  regulate  the 
movements  of  one's  soul. 

Each  and  every  provision  that  the  former 
Assembly  had  so  recently  made  for  the  King's 
reception  was  made  a  special  object  of  attack. 
Why  call  him  Sire?  Why  give  him  a  chair  "scan- 
dalous in  its  richness"?  He  ought  to  have  one 
neither  more  nor  less  magnificent  than  that  of  the 
president.  A  decree  in  five  articles  embodying  all 
these  restrictions  was  then  passed. 

But  the  members  in  their  censoriousness  had  far 
out-distanced  public  opinion.  The  galleries,  the 
former  deputies,  the  citizens  in  general  were  highly 
indignant.  It  was  pointed  out  that  the  relations 
between  the  Assembly  and  the  chief  executive  had 
been  regulated  by  the  Constitution ;  moreover  that 
a  decree  to  become  law  must  pass  through  three 
readings.  The  Assembly  was  accused  of  pride 
and  conceit,  even  of  crime  and  fanaticism;  it  was 
declared  that  public  credit  was  being  shaken, 
public  enemies  encouraged. 

It  was  a  tempest  in  a  teapot  but  significant. 
It  shows  that  Louis  XVI  still  had  a  hold  on  the 
affection  of  his  j)eople.  The  Assembly  finally 
reconsidered  its  decree  and  adjourned  the  matter 


212  The  French  Revolution 

indefinitely.'  On  October  7th,  Louis  appeared  in 
the  hall.  He  was  addressed  by  the  president  as 
"Sire"  and  as  "Majesty,"  was  given  the  "scanda- 
lously rich"  chair,  and  was  allowed  to  set  the 
example  in  the  matter  of  standing  up  or  sitting 
down. 

In  the  souls  of  the  friends  of  liberty  the  reconsid- 
eration of  the  hostile  decree  spread  fierce  indig- 
nation. In  all  seriousness,  the  Revolutions  de 
Paris  compares  it  to  the  revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes!  Both  national  glory  and  the  happiness 
of  the  human  race  are  at  stake ! 

This  much  is  important  to  note.  The  Jacobins, 
for  they  were  "the  friends  of  liberty,"  are  utterly 
in  the  minority  in  this  matter.  Couthon  and 
others  complain  bitterly  of  being  threatened  and 
insulted.  Gouverneur  Morris,  the  American  min- 
ister, writes':  "The  people  of  this  city  are  be- 
come wonderfully  fond  of  the  King  and  have  a 
thorough  contempt  for  the  Assembly  who  are  in 
general  what  used  to  be  called  at  Philadelphia 
'the  blue-stockings.'  .  .  .  At  the  Italian  Comedy, 
people  continually  cried,  Vive  le  roil,  Vive  la  rehiel, 
Vive  la  famille  royale,  Sire,  vive  voire  Majeste! 

One  can  imagine  Marie  Antoinette's  indigna- 
tion at  the  men  who  had  tried  to  pluck  the  whole 
royal  nimbus  from  her  husband's  head.  "There  is 
nothing  whatever  to  be  gained  from  this  Assem- 
bly," she  wrote  to  Fersen;  "it  is  a  conglomeration 
of  rogues,   madmen,  and  brutes."^     One  of  the 

'  Dehats  et  Decrets,  October  7th.  »  Morris,  i.,  462  (Oct.  10). 

3  Fersen,  i.,  208. 


Probation  213 

members,  Brissot,  glorifying  the  pike  as  the  new 
national  weapon  had  just  declared  that  it  must  be 
pointed  against  every  enemy  of  the  country  "even 
if  he  inhabit  the  Chateau  of  the  Tuileries."  ' 

'  Aulard  (Eloquence),  i..  238. 


CHAPTER  VII 


DOWNFALL 


IT  was  with  the  burning  questions  of  the  day,  not 
with  abstract  legislation,  that  the  new  Assem- 
bly was  to  busy  itself.  What  should  be  done 
about  these  emigres  who  were  stirring  up  the 
foreign  powers  to  invasion?  What  about  this 
refractory  clergy  that  refused  to  take  the  civic 
oath?  And  what  about  the  foreign  powers  them- 
selves? Were  they  to  be  pacified  or  irritated, 
treated  amicably  or  intimidated  into  submission? 
In  connection  with  the  acceptance  of  the  Con- 
stitution, a  general  amnesty  had  been  declared, 
and  the  emigres  had  been  invited  to  return.  Few 
availed  themselves  of  the  privilege.  Only  a  month 
later  we  find  Brissot,  one  of  the  first  men  of  the 
Legislative  Assembly  to  assirme  leadership,  urging 
that  a  blow  be  struck  not  at  the  obscure  crowd  but 
at  their  chiefs,  the  brothers  of  the  King.  Ver- 
gniaud,  the  brilliant  orator  from  the  Gironde,  de- 
nounced "these  agitators,  as  ridiculous  as  they  are 
insolent,  who  give  the  bizarre  name  of  'external 
France'  to  their  convulsive  assemblage";  these 
"haughty  beggars"  who  had  scorned  the  land  of 
equality  but  would  soon  "expiate  in  shame  and 

214 


Plate  95.      A  cartoon  representing  an  fmigrr  n-tiiniinR  as  a  la^jgar 
to  the  country  that  he  had  abandoned. 


215 


2i6  The  French  Revolution 

misery  their  criminal  pride  and  turn  eyes  bathed  in 
tears  towards  the  country  they  have  abandoned" ; 
these  "miserable  pygmies  who  in  an  access  of 
delirium  dared  to  parody  the  enterprise  of  the 
Titans  against  heaven. " '  "  Let  us  rid  the  nation, ' ' 
he  cried,  "of  these  buzzing  insects,  greedy  for 
its  blood,  that  are  annoying  and  harassing  it!" 
This  idea  of  the  haughty  beggar  coming  back  with 
his  eyes  bathed  in  tears  was  exploited  by  a  car- 
toonist.^ Possibly  he  drew  his  direct  inspiration 
from  Vergniaud's  speech,  or  was  even  commissioned 
to  work  up  the  theme. 

On  October  31st,  "Louis  Stanislas  Xavier, 
French  prince,  adult  relative,  next  in  line  for  the 
regency,"  was  summoned  to  return  to  France  within 
sixty  days  or  relinquish  his  rights  of  succession. 
Two  weeks  later  the  emigres  in  general  were  de- 
clared suspected  of  conspiracy  and  were  threat- 
ened with  death  if,  by  January  ist,  they  should 
still  be  found  banded  together.^  The  only  real 
hold,  indeed,  that  the  Assembly  had  was  in  its 
ability  to  confiscate  the  lands  and  revenues  of  the 
emigres,  and  this  course  it  now  announced  its 
intention  of  pursuing. 

On  December  14th,  Louis  XVI  was  forced  to 
send  an  ultimatum  to  the  Elector  of  Treves, 
brother  of  Marie  Antoinette,  whose  territory  had 
become  a  chief  rallying-point  for  the  emigres.  The 
latter  were  no  longer  to  be  harboured  but  were  to 
be  told  to  disperse  within  a  month. 

'  Aulard,  Eloquence,  i.,  318.  'Plate 95,  p.  215. 

s  Debats  et  Decrets,  November  9,  1791. 


Downfall 


217 


A  vigorous 
caricature  * 
is  entitled 
"Rage  and 
Despair  of 
the  little 
Elector  of 
Treves  on 
learning  the 
Resolution 
of  the  King 
of  the  French 
to  make  War 
upon  li  i  ni 
should  he 
any  longer 
protect  the 
Assemblages 

# 

of  the  Emig- 
res." The  El- 
ector seems 
to  be  foam- 
i  n  g  at  the 
mouth  an<l 
is  exclaim- 
ing: "Ah, 
great  1  Ica\- 
ens,  what  a 
fix  T  have 
got  into!  I 
had     rather 


JtwtiTttt  Mtejtc  r>rtr  It  /'yiff  /tiv  mdit  eta/* 


% 


n,'^ 


>. 


/t.. 


•'^i 


1  'late  96.     A  cartcKjn  showinR  the  Elt-clc  ir  ( )f  Treves 
foamint;  at  the  mouth  with  rage  owing  to  tlie 
artion  of  the  Fn-nch  Government  in  de- 
manding the  di.s|K.Tsal  of  tlie  rmigrt's 


21 8  The  French  Revolution 

see  the   devil   in   my   territory   than   to   see  the 
French  patriots  there ! ' ' 

Louis  XVI  delayed  sanctioning  the  severest 
decrees  against  the  emigres,  and  secretly  urged 
Breteuil  to  rally  the  powers  of  Europe  in  defence 
of  the  Elector  of  Treves.  He  writes  at  this  time : 
"It  is  clear  to  every  person  who  walks  on  two  feet 
that  I  cannot  approve  of  the  Revolution  and  of 
the  absurd  and  detestable  Constitution  which  puts 
me  on  a  lower  plane  than  even  the  King  of  Poland." ' 
The  Elector,  for  his  part,  obeyed  the  summons,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  his  nephews,  the  princes. 


The  question  of  the  refractory  clergy  was  causing 
quite  as  much  alarm  and  excitement  as  that  of  the 
emigres.  "They  would  like  to  swim  in  the  blood 
of  the  patriots, "  declared  Abbe  Fauchet  on  October 
20th,  "that  is  their  sweet  and  familiar  expression. 
In  comparison  with  these  priests  atheists  are  angels. 
.  .  .  Good  God,  what  a  Church!  ...  If  hell 
could  found  one  among  men  it  would  be  animated 
by  just  this  spirit."^  And  Isnard,  the  Girondist, 
made  this  reply  to  a  plea  to  treat  the  non- jurors 
with  more  toleration: 

Toleration  for  those  who  will  not  tolerate  either  the  law 
or  your  Constitution?  Indulgence  for  those  who  conspire 
against  their  country?  Indulgence  for  those  who  with  the 
torch  of  fanaticism  are  setting  the  whole  kingdom  ablaze? 
Ah,  what!  When  the  corpses  of  your  brothers  are  crying 
for  vengeance,  when  floods  of  French  blood  have  gone  to 
swell  the  floods  of  the  sea — is  it  then  they  come  to  suggest 

'  Sorel,  ii.,  331.  '  Aulard,  Eloquence,  ii.,  121. 


■3^=^^3^ 


"^ 


31: 


/iV-V  t^ii/Nj.^ .  .'II    ///,//////<•//  </rf/,r    ."/iifft/t'*'       ^ 

Plate-  97.     A  cartoon  rvprcscnting  Louis  XVI  as  "King  Janus"  with  one 
face  tumcti  towards  the  Constitution  and  the  other  towards  the 

non-juring  clergy. 


219 


220  The  French  Revolution 

to  you  indulgence  ?  It  is  time  for  the  pride  of  the  censer 
like  the  pride  of  the  diadem  to  bow  before  the  sceptre  of 
the  sovereignty  of  the  people.^ 

In  November,  rigid  laws  were  passed  against 
those  who  should  refuse  to  take  the  civic  oath 
within  a  week.^  They  were  to  lose  all  claim  on  the 
public  treasury;  they  were  "to  be  considered  under 
suspicion  of  revolt  against  the  law  and  of  harbour- 
ing evil  intentions  against  their  country  and,  on  this 
ground,  to  be  particularly  subjected  and  recom- 
mended to  the  surveillance  of  all  the  constituted 
authorities."  On  May  27th  the  severity  reached 
its  climax.  "It  would  be  compromising  public 
safety, "  says  the  preamble  of  a  new  series  of  laws, 
"any  longer  to  regard  as  members  of  society  men 
who  are  evidently  seeking  to  dissolve  it."  On 
denunciation  by  twenty  active  citizens  of  his 
canton,  a  priest  is  to  be  ordered  to  leave  his  district 
within  twenty-four  hours,  his  department  within 
three  days,  and  the  kingdom  within  a  month. 
Should  he  attempt  to  return  he  is  to  be  punished 
by  imprisonment  for  ten  years.^ 

These  laws  the  King  had  the  courage  to  refuse 
to  sign  until  further  consideration.  One  can 
imagine  the  fury  of  a  mob  grown  accustomed  to 
have  its  way  in  everything.  We  have  a  cartoon^ 
where  Louis  is  represented  as  "King  Janus,  or  the 
man  with  two  faces."  With  one  he  looks  towards 
the  book  of  the  law  declaring,  "I  will  uphold  the 
Constitution ' ' ;  with  the  other  he  looks  towards  the 

'  Aulard  Eloquence,  ii.,  68-9.  '  Dcbats  et  Decrets,  Nov.  16-18. 

3  Buchez  et  Roux,  14,  247.  *  Plate  97,  p.  219. 


Downhill  221 

clerg}'-  and  promises  to  destroy  the  Constitution. 
The  crown  sits  firm  on  the  one  head;  on  the  other 
it  is  topphng  over. 

Two  great  parties  were  forming  in  the  Assembly: 
the  Girondists,  or  provincials,  and  the  enrages,  the 
party  that  was  later  to  be  known  as  the  Mountain, 
which  stood  for  centralization  and  the  domination 
of  Paris.  Just  now,  however,  it  might  have  been 
said  that  the  Girondists  were  for  warring  against 
external  enemies,  the  enrages  for  ferreting  out 
conspiracies  at  home. 

It  is  not  clear  why  Brissot  and  his  adherents 
took  such  delight  in  hounding  on  the  French  nation 
to  war  with  Europe.  Was  it  merely  for  the  sake 
of  currying  favour  with  the  people?  Did  they  see 
that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  divert  all  the 
empty  enthusiasm  into  some  practical  channel? 
Or  did  they,  as  has  recently  been  advanced, '  seek 
to  apply  a  supreme  test  to  the  loyalty  of  the  King 
by  making  him  declare  war  against  his  own  flesh 
and  blood? 

There  is  another  assumption  that  seems  most 
plausible.  These  Girondists  were  fanatical  ideal- 
ists, and  Vergniaud  was  sincere  when  he  cried 
out,  "To  arms!  To  arms!  .  .  .  Assure  the 
hope  of  liberty  to  the  human  race!"  Brissot  be- 
lieved that  if  he  could  only  bring  the  soldiers  of 
liberty  into  contact  with  the  s(;ldiers  of  tyrants 
the  latter  would  at  once  desert  in  a  body.  We 
have  seen  the  various  cartoons  that  were  based  on 
this  idea.'     Brissot  was  fond   of   illustrating  the 

•  Jaurfes,  815.  »  Sc-c  Plate  92.  p.  205  and  Plate  93.  p.  206. 


222  The  French  Revolution 

virtues  of  the  soldiers  of  Liberty  from  examples 
in  the  American  Revolution,  in  which  he  had  taken 
part.  Washington,  he  once  cried  (it  was  after 
crossing  the  Delaware),  "told  me  himself  his 
soldiers  had  no  shoes ;  the  ice  which  tore  their  feet 
was  dyed  with  their  blood.  '  We  shall  have  shoes 
to-morrow,'  they  said,  'we  shall  beat  the  English.' 
And  they  did!" 

Isnard,  another  of  the  fiery  orators  of  the  party, 
was  sure  that  if  even  in  the  moment  of  combat 
the  light  of  philosophy  should  shine  forth,  the 
peoples  would  embrace  and  the  face  of  the  world 
be  changed.'  He  once,  at  the  Jacobin  Club, 
brandished  a  sword  that  was  to  be  given  to  the 
first  French  general  who  struck  down  an  enemy  of 
the  Revolution,  and  urged  the  French  people  to 
utter  a  loud  cry  to  which  all  other  peoples  on  earth 
would  respond,  with  the  result  that  "the  earth  will 
be  covered  with  combatants  and  all  the  enemies  of 
Liberty  effaced  from  the  lists  of  free  men." 

It  may  have  been,  then,  this  firm  belief  that  the 
tyrants  would  really  "tremble  on  their  thrones  of 
clay,"  that  "  the  fire  of  Liberty  armed  with  the  sword 
of  reason  and  eloquence  "  would  and  must  prevail, 
that  so  inflamed  the  Girondists  for  war  at  any  cost. 
"The  sole  calamity  to  be  dreaded,"  cried  Brissot  on 
December  29th,  "is  not  to  have  war  ";  and  again, 
at  the  Jacobin  Club:  " I  have  but  one  fear,  that  we 
shall  not  be  betrayed.  We  need  some  treason;  it 
will  be  our  salvation!"  ^ 

On  January  9th,  there  was  a  passage  at  arms 

^  Aulard,  Eloquence,  ii.,  72.  ^  lb.,  i.,  249. 


Downfall 


223 


between  Loiivet,  the  Girondist,  and  Robespierre, 
head  of  the  enrages,  that  is  characteristic  of  the 
mutual  attitude  of  the  two  parties.  Louvet 
concluded  a  speech  with  a  dramatic  appeal  to 
*  ■  march  against  Leopold ! ' '     There  was  tremendous 


t./.V/  rri/ir  i/f  /'■ 


A  I  N  S 1     V  A    1 .  \'\    M  ( )  N  1 )  V, 

t>  Jfr.tJ'rr/ii-i'.f.r/  Kn<'ipii'.'  ih'  tu>r//i.i 
"  ■  l.t;f  /'ri/ti't'.i'  /rilli'<n-i' 

10  A'.r /'/',>//  • 


'i//'f 
■e/'ire 


A\'Vf  ."v '/ 


Plate  98.     A  cartoon  showing  the  poHtical  situation  at  the  end  of  the  year 

I7<)i.     Ix)uis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette,  ainously  enough,  are 

stemming  the  course  of  invasion  wliich  Sweden,  Denmark, 

Russia  and  the  emigres  are  furthering. 

enthusiasm,  hats  were  swung  in  tlu-  air,  and  voices 
repeated  in  chf)rus,  "March  against  Leopold!" 
But  Robespierre  the  next  day  admonished  his 
hearers  roundly,  first  to  subdue  the  enemies  at 
home,  first  to  follow  up  conspirators  and  put  down 
despotism,  and  then — but  not  until  then — to 
"march   against   Leopold."' 

*  AnUiul,  I'Uoqurncr   n..  11-12. 


224  The  French  Revolution 

With  the  sympathies  of  the  Emperor  Leopold 
being  worked  upon  in  favour  of  his  sister,  with 
Fersen  and  the  King  of  Sweden  plotting  to  over- 
turn the  French  Constitution,  with  the  Pope  and  his 
Cardinals  urging  any  course  that  would  restore  the 
Church's  prestige  in  France,  and  with  the  French 
Assembly  irritating  all  its  neighbours  by  its 
blatant  claims  and  threats,  it  is  no  wonder  that  war 
became  inevitable. 

We  have  an  elaborate  cartoon'  called  "Thus 
the  world  wags ! "  which  characterises  the  situation. 
The  powers  are  playing  about  the  roles  just  in- 
dicated. The  King  of  Sweden  drives  the  Em- 
peror, who  is  pulling  the  coach;  the  princes  and 
others  who  have  burdened  the  coach  with  their 
own  baggage  push  from  behind ;  in  the  coach  itself 
sit  a  number  of  Rhenish  princes  and  bishops.  On 
top  the  Czarina  with  a  long  whip  touches  up  the 
Emperor,  but  Marie  Antoinette  has  hold  of  her 
brother's  pigtail  and  pulls  him  back  while  Louis 
puts  a  bar  between  the  spokes  of  the  wheel.  Pitt 
on  the  cliffs  of  his  island  is  at  a  very  safe  distance, 
but  wishes  the  party  a  bon  voyage;  while  on  the 
steps  of  St.  Peter's  the  Pope  and  the  Cardinals  are 
giving  their  blessing  to  the  enterprise. 

This  theme  of  France's  difficulties  inspired  more 
than  one  clever  artist.  We  have  a  representation^ 
where  Louis  XVI  is  trying  to  escape  in  his  chariot 
drawn  by  six  swift  hares.  The  nations  pursue 
him  with  every  sort  of  attack.  England  in  the 
form  of  a  leopard,  with  two  other  wild  beasts  at  her 

'  Plate  98,  p.  223.  »  Plate  99,  p.  225. 


Downfall 


225 


side,  blocks  his  way;  down  on  him  swoops  the  Ger- 
man eagle;  after  him  nm  the  Pope  and  Cardinals 
threatening  him  with  their  crooks;  Spain  makes 
the  sign  of  the  cross  to  exorcise  him;    Denmark 


Plate  99.     A  cartoon  showing  the  nations  in  the  act  of  i  losing  in  upon  Louis 

XVI  whose  only  hope  of  rescue  is  in  BlanchanJ  the  famous  balloonist 

who  is  hovering  over  the  scene. 

barks  at  him;  Holland  calls  him  "poor  stuff"; 
Savoy  and  vSwitzerland  won't  receive  him.  His 
only  hope  is  Blanchard,  the  famous  balloonist,  who 
hovers  overhead  ready  to  "carr\'  him  off  from  the 
just  fur>''  of  his  enemies. "  In  a  caricature  entitk'd 
"Ah,  Things  arc  going  badly,'"  we  sec  the  fon'ign 
powers  and  the  brothers  of  the  King,  in  the  base- 

•  Iliitcloo,  p.  227. 


226  The  French  Revolution 

ment  beneath  the  Jacobin  Club,  stirring  flames  the 
heat  from  which  makes  the  enrages  above  jump  and 
dance  around  in  pain. 

By  the  middle  of  January  the  situation  as  re- 
garded France  and  Austria  had  become  acute. 
The  Queen  was  accused  of  heading  an  Austrian 
committee  that  met  in  secret  in  the  Tuileries.  The 
constant  cry  was  that  France  must  not  wait  to  be 
attacked  but  must  act  as  Frederick  the  Great  had 
done  when  he  seized  Silesia.  It  is  strange  to  see 
Frederick  the  Great  set  up  as  a  pattern  for  the 
French  Revolutionists  to  follow !  On  January  25th 
a  belligerent  message  was  sent  to  Austria. 

From  the  camp  of  the  emigres  came  a  cartoon^ 
showing  the  utter  absurdity  of  the  three  revolu- 
tionary generals,  Lafayette,  Luckner,  and  Rocham- 
beau,  trying  to  fall  upon  the  Germanic  Empire. 
It  was  issued  in  Mainz  three  days  before  the  official 
ultimatum  to  Austria.  It  represents  Lafayette 
raised  on  the  batons  of  Tvlarshals  Luckner  and 
Rochambeau  and  endeavouring  to  take  the  moon 
in  his  teeth — an  allusion  to  the  well-known  French 
idiom  which  means  attempting  the  impossible. 

Marie  Antoinette  and  the  court  were  in  a  regu- 
lar panic.  The  Queen  wrote  to  her  faithful  Mercy 
d'Argenteau  and  begged  him  to  see  that  the 
army  raised  by  the  Emperor  be  sufficiently  large. 
But  she  is  sure,  she  says,  that  all  the  insolence 
comes  at  bottom  from  fear.  The  Queen's  old 
admirer,  Fersen,  was  so  impressed  by  the  peril  of 
the  royal  family  that  he  braved  every  danger  and 

'  Plate  1 01,  p.  229. 


i^kilc  I(K>,     Aviirlmm  shuwing  the  rniifirrs  and  the  fori-inn  powers  stirring 

the  flames  :in<l  giving  the  <lq)utie.s  assemhletl  at  the  Jac<>l>in  Cluh  a 

hot  time.     The  deputies  are  daneing  around  in  agony. 


227 


228  The  French  Revolution 

suddenly  appeared  at  the  Tuileries  in  disguise. 
He  was  ready  to  arrange  a  new  flight.  The  King 
this  time,  however,  was  deaf  to  the  voice  of  the 
charmer,  but  agreed  finally  that  should  the  allied 
troops  draw  sufficiently  near  he  would  conveniently 
go  astray  in  the  woods  and  fall  into  their  hands.  ^ 
Fersen  was  quite  sure  that,  with  the  aid  of  the 
foreigners,  the  King  could  easily  restore  his  power 
to  its  full  former  extent.  This  was  the  old  delu- 
sion of  Marie  Antoinette.  Did  she  inspire  Fersen 
with  it  or  did  he  inspire  her? 

Austria,  on  February  7th,  concluded  an  alliance 
with  Prussia, which  power  agreed  to  send,  if  need  be, 
40,000  men  into  the  field.  On  March  ist.  Emperor 
Leopold  died  after  a  very  short  illness  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Francis  II.,  a  youth  of  twenty- 
three  who  was  not  likely  to  endure  France's  threats 
complacently — and  the  party  in  power  in  France 
was  ready  to  push  things  to  extremes.  Vergniaud 
in  the  Assembly  made  a  wildly  savage  onslaught  on 
the  corrupt  councillors  who  perverted  the  King 
and  were  seeking  to  betray  the  nation  to  the  House 
of  Austria.  He  could  see  the  palace  windows,  he 
cried,  where  they  were  plotting  counter-revolution, 
anarchy,  and  a  return  to  slavery.  But  the  moment 
had  come  for  putting  an  end  to  all  this  insolence 
and  he  apostrophized  Terror  and  Fright  bidding 
themi  re-enter  in  the  name  of  the  law  that  famous 
palace  whence  they  had  so  often  issued  in  the  name 
of  despotism.  ' '  And  let  all  who  dwell  there  know, ' ' 
he  concluded,  "that  our  Constitution  accords  in- 

»  Sorel,  ii.,  365  ff. 


//////,•/•,'/  /V /,•////'////'///////•/'//// //  /////,•  ,/t>,-i-  /.(•    ,/,-/i/.f 


Platf  loi.     A  cartoon  sl-.(.wi:-.v^  Lafavftlr,  uj)hilil  l>y  I.iuk-tr  ami  Rixhani- 

Ixsiu,  lr>'ing  to  lake  the  moon  in  hislcrth.     'J'hf  invasion  of  the  Cicrnian 

Empire  is  a  siniil.ir  fo<»lharcly  enterprise. 

229 


230  The  French  Revolution 

violability  to  the  King  alone;  let  them  know  that 
the  law  will  reach  without  distinction  all  the  guilty, 
and  that  not  one  single  head  convicted  of  crime 
shall  escape  its  sword!"' 

Fright  and  Terror  obeyed  their  orders.  The 
King  is  reported  to  have  acted  like  a  man  preparing 
for  death. ^  He  accepted  a  new  ministry  at  the 
hands  of  the  Girondists  themselves.  It  consisted 
of  Roland,  Claviere,  Servan,  Dumouriez,  and  one 
or  two  insignificant  personages.  Dumouriez,  who 
was  now  Minister  of  War,  was  as  eager  for  the 
conflict  with  Europe  as  Brissot  himself,  and  had 
already  begun  to  form  his  plan  of  campaign. 
Austria  was  told  to  cease  her  armaments  and  give 
satisfaction  by  April  15th  or  take  the  consequences. 
Satisfaction  for  what?  Dumouriez  accused  her  of 
breaking  all  treaties  concluded  in  the  past  four 
hundred  years.  It  was  a  sweeping  charge!  No 
satisfaction  was  given,  and  on  April  20th  France 
declared  war.  The  poor  King  himself  had  been 
obliged  to  appear  in  the  Assembly  and  make  the 
decisive  motion. 

A  modern  writer  of  repute,^  but  hostile  to 
Marie  Antoinette,  avers  that  the  latter  now  be- 
trayed to  Mercy  d'Argenteau  the  results  of  a 
cabinet  council  held  on  the  25th  of  March. 


So  to  all  her  internal  troubles  France  had  added 
a  war  of  utterly  incalculable  dimensions.  Hostili- 
ties began  in  a  mild  way  already  on  April  28th. 

'  Aulard,  Eloquence,  i.,  323.  '  Sorel,  ii.,  401.  ^  Jaures,  957. 


Downfall 


231 


There  were  skirmishes  on  the  Belg^ian  frontier 
with  Austrian  detachments.  To  the  Belj^ian 
people  a  manifesto  had  been  issued  proclaiming 
war  to  tyrants  but  liberty  to  the  people.     The 


Plate  102.     A  depiction  of  Cupid  as  a  sans-culotte  placing  a 
wreath  on  the  altar  of  Equality. 

Belgian  lion  was  called  upon  to  awake,  the  Belgian 
people  to  cast  off  their  thraldom:  "How  are  you 
nourished?  Worse  than  the  dogs  of  France! 
Come,  come  and  die  with  your  brothers  the 
French!"' 

The  Belgians  were  not  so  ill-nourished  that  they 

•  Sorel,  ii.,  4H1. 


2^2  The  French  Revolution 

felt  the  necessity  of  dying.  They  did  not  desert. 
On  the  contrary  in  each  small  encounter  they  put 
the  French  to  flight.  The  successes  were  but 
temporary  indeed,  for  with  Dumouriez  himself  in 
the  field  the  French  were  to  make  quite  another 
showing.  But  for  the  present  all  was  in  confusion. 
The  state  had  not  sufficient  funds  to  stand  the 
heavy  drain,  and  on  May  1 5th  partially  repudiated 
its  debts.  And  then  this  king!  Everything  was 
now  done  to  humiliate  and  annoy  him.  On  May 
29th,  even  the  guards  that  had  been  allowed  him 
by  the  Constitution  were  dismissed;  on  June  8th, 
a  decree  authorizing  a  camp  of  20,000  patriots 
under  the  walls  of  Paris  was  passed.  The  measure 
was  directed  against  himself  and  he  vetoed  it 
as  he  did,  too,  the  decree  of  May  27th  against 
the  clergy.    His  Girondist  ministry  was  dismissed. 

All  this  was  regarded  as  treason,'  and  perfect 
torrents  of  abuse  descended  on  his  head.  The 
Revolutions  de  Paris  calls  the  veto  ''the  corner- 
stone on  which  the  court  intends  to  re-edify  the 
system  of  despotism."  The  National  Assembly 
it  declares,  is  hampered  [by  its  own  Constitution !] 
like  a  convict  tied  to  a  cannon-ball.  The  King  is 
doubtless  saying:  "Bah!  This  veto  alone  avenges 
all  the  grief  you  have  caused  me  these  two  years. 
.  .  .  Bah!  You  are  meant  to  be  slaves,  you 
know  you  are,  so  long  as  I  have  the  veto;  and  your 
own  idolized  Constitution  gave  it  to  me. " 

It  was  on  June  19th  that  official  notification  of 
the  King's  exercise  of  the  veto  power  was  given. 

'  Aulard,  Hist.  Politique,  179,  still  regards  it  thus. 


Downfall  ?^i 


-^oo 


By  the  20th,  indignation  had  reached  the  boiling- 
point.  At  mid-day  a  vast  crowd  gathered  before 
the  hall  of  the  National  Assembly  and  clamoured 
for  admittance.'  They  were  armed  with  every 
imaginable  weapon,  including  scythes,  pitchforks, 
and  axes,  and  dragged  a  score  of  cannon  with  them. 
Their  orator  declared  that  they  had  come  to  pour 
their  woes  and  their  fears  into  the  lap  of  the 
Assembly.  Everything  was  wrong.  The  army  was 
not  doing  its  duty,  the  courts  were  not  swift 
enough  in  their  judgments,  the  perfidious  chateau  of 
the  Tuileries  was  causing  the  blood  of  patriots  to 
flow  merely  to  satisfy  its  own  pride  and  ambition. 
The  phrases  were  marshalled  like  an  army  of  scare- 
crows. Every  other  word  was  ' '  crowned  despots, ' ' 
"ulcerated  hearts,"  "majesty  of  an  outraged 
people,"  "vengeance  on  conspirators." 

The  mob  defiled  before  its  legislators  displaymg 
every  kind  of  emblem:  liberty  caps,  tri-coloured 
ribbons,  pikes, — even  the  bloody  heart  of  a  calf 
with  the  inscription,  "Heart  of  an  aristocrat." 
This  last  was  too  much  for  the  nerves  of  the 
president  and  he  ordered  its  removal. 

For  hours  the  motley  procession  continued.^ 
There  was  beat  of  drums,  there  was  light  of  torches, 
there  was  waving  of  branches.  An  old  pair  of 
seatless  trousers  was  carried  aloft  in  honour  of  the 
appellation  sans-culottc  in  which  the  radicals  were 
n(jw  beginning  to  glory,  although  the  name  had 

•  Letter  of  a  deputy,  Az<5ma  in  Im  Rholution  Franqaise,  xxviii.,  170. 
In  j;i"ntT:il,  set*  MorliniLT-Tfrnciix,  lltslmrr  dr  In  I'rrrrur. 
'  Az<^'ma.     Sec  also  Aa  Rrvotulion  h'ranqaise,  xxxv.,  534. 


234  The  French  Revolution 

first  been  given  to  them  by  the  artistocrats.  We 
have  a  pretty  engraving  called  "Cupid,  the  Sans- 
Culotte.'''  ^ 

There  were  transparencies  with  threats  against 
tyrants:  "Obey  the  laws  or  tremble!"  "The 
people  are  tired  of  suffering!"  "Liberty  or  death!" 
"Warning  to  Louis  XVI!"  The  whole  was  a  bitter 
humiliation  for  the  National  Assembly,  showing 
as  it  did  only  too  plainly  that  the  mob  was  taking 
matters  entirely  into  its  own  control.  It  was 
adopting,  to  quote  a  modern  writer,^  the  device 
of  Louis  XIV:  "It  entered  whip  in  hand  within 
the  legislative  precincts  and  proffered  to  the  dazed 
representatives  of  the  law  the  brutal  and  insolent 
formula,  'The  state?     I  am  the  state!'" 

And  now  these  good  sans-culottes,  of  whom  some 
artist  thought  it  worth  while  to  preserve  the  type,-^ 
determined  to  administer  a  direct  lesson  to  the 
King  and  Queen  and  invade  their  privacy  at 
the  Tuileries.  The  royal  family  were  enjoying 
their  afternoon  coffee  when  there  was  a  crashing 
of  railings,  a  forcing  of  gates,  and  a  beating  open  of 
doors  with  axes.  There  were  cries  of  ' '  Down  with 
the  King!"  "Down  with  Monsieur  and  Madame 
Veto ! "  "*  Louis  was  threatened  with  dethronement 
if  he  did  not  at  once  sanction  the  decrees  of  the 
Assembly  and  recall  his  Girondist  ministers. 

The  King  had  ordered  his  retainers  to  cease  all 
opposition  and  retired  to  the  shelter  of  a  bay  win- 

'  Plate  102,  p.  231.  '  Sorel.  »  Plate  103,  p.  235. 

*  Az^ma  {Rev.  Fr.  xxviii.,  170);  also  von  Sybel,  ii.,  405,  and  Mortimer- 
Terneux. 


PUite  103.     A  (Icpjction  of  the  typical  sans-culotte  of  Paris  with 
his  pike,  the  wcaiKjn  of  the  Rcvohition,  and  the  cockade 

in  his  hxit 


235 


236  The  French  Revolution 

dow,  while  Marie  Antoinette  and  the  children  took 
refuge  behind  a  table.  The  Dauphin  and  his  sister, 
we  are  told,  fell  on  their  knees  and  with  folded 
hands  begged  for  "mercy  for  Mama!" 

Never  had  son  of  St.  Louis  had  his  person  treated 
with  such  brutal  familiarity.  He  was  made  to 
put  on  a  red  cap  of  Liberty,  which  was  reached 
over  to  him  on  the  end  of  a  pike,  and  to  hold  in  his 
hand  a  sword  twined  with  flowers  and  with  a  tri- 
coloured  cockade  on  its  point.  One  good  sans- 
culotte made  repeated  dabs  at  him  with  his  pike, 
and  others  tried  to  reach  him  with  the  points  of 
their  swords. 

Order  was  finally  restored  after  three  deputations 
had  been  sent  from  the  National  Assembly.  "All 
is  perfectly  quiet  at  this  moment,"  writes  a  mem- 
ber,"' but  it  is  a  terrible  lesson  for  the  King,  Queen, 
and  the  rest.  They  are  very  much  affected." 
This  member  maintains  that  the  King  ground  his 
teeth  with  rage  but  that  the  Queen  was  politic 
and  tried  to  be  pleasant,  even  inviting  the  deputa- 
tion to  see  the  Dauphin  put  to  bed.  Some  of  the 
deputies  seemed  flattered  by  this,  "but  we,  the 
patriots,  told  them  the  truth  and  the  whole  truth 
which  made  them  sulk  and  make  faces  in  spite  of 
being  so  politic."  There  was  quite  a  lengthy 
discussion :  ' '  for  our  principles  are  so  very  opposed 
to  theirs ! ' ' 

We  have  a  glimpse  of  the  Queen  indignantly 
showing  the  deputies  the  broken  doors  and  asking 
their  advice  about  how  to  report  the  affair.     They 

'  Az6ma. 


Downfall 


237 


told  her  it  was  a  matter  for  the  Justice  of  the  Peace. 
He  was  summoned  and  drew  up  a  protocol. 

We    have    a    royalist    representation  '    of    this 


■iamkHVB.- 


k.  u-j  ji^^  ti  fw^  T'  X%4^  ;  •  VMM--  u  ^^  i, 


*      .MV      .»    <l     ...^^-W^^.. 


Plate  104.     A  representation  of  the  scene  in  tlie  Tuileries  prilace  on  June  20, 

1792,  when  the  mob  broke  in  and  tried  to  force  Louis  XVI  to  rescind 

his  veto  of  the  decrees  providing  for  a  camp  near  Paris  and  enacting 

still  severer  penalties  against  the  non-juring  clergy. 

famous  20th  of  June.  The  fierce  countenances  and 
rolling  eyes  of  the  wicked  Revolutionists  are  amus- 
ingly contrasted  with  the  saint-like  though  troubled 
expressions  of  the  royal  pair  and  their  guards. 
There  is  a  long  text  which,  allowing  for  bias,  does 
no  great  violence  to  the  truth: 

'  Plate  I04,atx>vc. 


238  The  French  Revolution 

The  door  of  the  ceil-de-basuf  was  closed;  they  shake  it. 
It  was  on  the  point  of  being  broken  in ;  all  was  over  with  the 
royal  family.  One  man  and  one  alone  stopped  these  tigers 
thirsting  for  blood.  That  man  was  Louis  XVI.  He  ran 
to  the  door  and  cried  to  the  Swiss  guards:  "Open,  open! 
I  need  fear  nothing  from  Frenchmen ! ' '  This  firmness  allays 
all  the  fury.  Louis  retires  to  the  back  of  the  room.  The 
bandits  rush  in  crying,  "Where  is  he  that  we  may  slay  him?  " 
The  Swiss  guards  draw  their  swords."  The  King  says  to 
them  calmly,  "No,  no,  I  command  you  to  sheathe  your 
swords!"  Louis  was  surrounded  by  assassins  and  every 
moment  had  to  listen  to  the  most  frightful  threats,  when 
Petion,  Mayor  of  Paris,  mounted  a  stool  and  said  to  him: 
"Sire,  you  have  nothing  to  fear!"  "Nothing  to  fear?" 
replied  the  King  with  emotion,  "a  good  man  with  a  pure 
conscience  never  trembles;  only  those  need  to  fear  who 
have  cause  for  self-reproach."  "Look,"  he  added,  taking 
the  hand  of  a  grenadier  who  was  beside  him,  "give  me  your 
hand,  place  it  on  my  heart  and  tell  this  man  if  it  beats  more 
quickly  than  usual!" 

The  occurrences  of  June  20th  served,  above  all, 
to  widen  the  rift  between  the  different  political 
factions.  Lafayette,  who  was  busy  in  the  field, 
first  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Assembly  which  caused 
Guadet  to  cry  out:  "When  Cromwell  used  similar 
language  liberty  was  lost  in  England!"'  then  left 
his  post  and  hurried  to  Paris  trusting  to  his  old- 
time  popularity — a  step  which  made  Robespierre 
and  the  Jacobins  denounce  him  as  in  league  with 
Austria,  But  even  among  the  people  many  boiled 
with  indignation  at  the  insults  that  had  been  offered 
the  King,  and  a  petition  of  protest  sent  to  the 
National  Assembly  was  signed  by  twenty  thousand. 

'  Sorel,  ii.,  484-5. 


Downfall  239 

Louis  X^"!  himself  issued  a  proclamation  re- 
hearsing all  the  events  of  the  day,  declaring  that 
no  amount  of  violence  would  make  him  consent  to 
measures  that  were  opposed  to  the  general  welfare, 
and  bidding  the  enemies  of  the  monarchy,  if  they 
wished  one  crime  more,  to  commit  it  now.'  The 
Assembly,  finally,  on  June  23d,  put  itself  on  record 
as  "intending  to  maintain  the  Constitution  and  the 
inviolability  of  the  hereditary  representative  of 
the  nation,"  spoke  of  "enemies  of  the  people 
and  of  Liberty  who  had  usurped  the  language  of 
patriotism,"  and  urged  all  good  citizens  to  aid  the 
constituted   authorities  in   preserving  order.  "* 

Yet  only  ten  days  later  Vergniaud,  in  one  of  the 
most  stirring  harangues  of  the  whole  Revolution, 
accused  Louis  XVI  of  conspiring  with  foreigners 
to  enslave  and  dismember  France.  The  fact,  too, 
that  Petion,  Mayor  of  Paris,  was  suspended  at 
Louis'  instigation  for  not  having  taken  better 
measures  for  his  protection,  added  to  the  ferment. 
Dumouriez  sent  alarming  reports  of  the  condition  of 
the  army;  yet  the  enemies  were  rapidly  approach- 
ing the  frontier,  Prussia  having  formally  declared 
war  on  July  6th.  In  Brittany,  in  La  Vendee, 
there  were  the  beginnings  of  insurrection. 

In  the  Assembly  there  were  fierce  debates  as  to 
whether  or  not  Petion  should  be  dismissed  from 
office.  We  have  a  representation  of  Petion^  that 
must  have  been  issued  by  his  partisans  at  this 
very  cri.sis  and  that  is  interesting  in  various  regards. 
P6tion's  portrait  in  the  form   of  a  medallion   is 

«  DuvcTKicr,  iv.,  223.  '  II).,  iv.,  225.  J  IMati'  105,  p.  J40. 


240 


The  French  Revolution 


suspended   by   a   tri-coloured   ribbon   in   or   over 
a  great  heart.     The  text  underneath  reads:    "  Je- 


-Hflire  till  l)c'(i.»j'toi;t 


Plate  105.    A  portrait  of  Potion,  man  of  the  hour  and  idolized  Mayor  of 

Paris.     He  is  enshrined  in  the  popular  heart  under  the  protecting 

folds  of  the  tri-coloured  ribbon.     Note  the  heart. 

rome  Petion,  Mayor  of  Paris,  illegally  suspended 
by  the  counter-revolutionary  department-direc- 
tory  at   the   instigation   of  a   superior   authority 


Downfall 


241 


more  revolutionary  still."  Around  the  medallion 
are  the  words,  "His  love  for  liberty  has  placed  him 
in  our  hearts.  He  was  an  incorruptible  legislator. 
He  is  a  mayor  without  fear  and  without  reproach. " 
Events  now  followed  thick  and  fast.  On  July 
7th,    after   frightful   bickerings   in   the  Assembly, 


m^,. 


.- .  /.  v-^^V^'  ^-/i^- 


Plate  106.     A  newspaper  illustration  from  the  RC-volutiofis  dc  Paris  which 
incidentally  shows  the  flag  with  "The  country  is  in  danger!"  hanging 

from  the  H6tel  de  Ville. 

Abbe  Lamourette  rose  and  made  an  eloquent 
appeal  to  forget  all  differences  and  unite  nil  parties 
against  this  foreign  enemy  that  was  about  to 
invade  France.  There  was  an  extraordinary  scene 
of  enthusiasm  and  l)rotherly  love  during  which 
political  enmities  were  forgotten  and  deputies  of 
the  right  and  deputies  of  the  left  crossed  the  hall 
anrl  literally  kissed  each  other.  Hut  liow  long 
did  this  harmony  last?  On  the  following  day 
16 


242  The  French  Revolution 

matters  were  as  bad  as  ever.  The  kiss,  it  was 
declared,  was  the  kiss  of  Judas;  a  Hercules  and  his 
club,  not  a  weeping  priest,  were  needed  against 
crowned  robbers  and  ogres.  The  King's  friends 
believed  that  he  was  in  danger  of  being  assassinated, 
and  Lafayette  as  well  as  Madame  de  Stael  are 
really  said  to  have  been  concerned  in  a  new  plot  for 
the  escape  of  the  royal  family.' 

On  July  9th,  the  ministers  presented  a  most 
alarming  report  on  the  general  state  of  affairs  in 
the  kingdom,  and  resigned  in  a  body.  On  the  nth 
the  Assembly  resorted  to  its  last  and  most  des- 
perate measure — a  measure  borrowed  from  ancient 
Rome — and  proclaimed  the  country  in  danger.^ 
A  great  flag  with  an  inscription  to  that  effect  was 
hung  out  from  the  Hotel  de  Ville.^  A  public  an- 
nouncemient  was  made  that  troops  were  converg- 
ing on  the  frontier.  Every  functionary,  every 
soldier,  was  ordered  to  remain  at  his  post;  every 
patriot  was  to  wear  the  national  cockade.  Dis- 
obedience was  to  be  considered  as  rebellion,  and 
those  who  failed  to  denounce  were  to  be  treated 
as  accomplices. 

It  was  in  a  frenzied  state  of  mind  that  the  anni- 
versary of  the  storming  of  the  Bastile  was  cele- 
brated on  the  Champ  de  Mars  and  the  emblems  of 
feudalism  were  once  more  consigned  to  the  flames.^ 
We  have  a  serious  representation  of  the  scene, ^  by 
the  conscientious  Prieur,  which  shows  every  sort  of 

» Sorel,  ii.,  489. 

»  Debats  et  Decrets,  July  11,  1792.     See  also  number  of  July  4th. 

3  Plate  106,  p.  241.      '*  Feuille  Villageoise  iv.,  384.       s  Plate  107,  p.  243. 


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,.,/. //    />.,..        ,„.    r.l/rh. 


Plate  Ifj9.     A  rcprc-scntation  ui  Cupid  as  a  volunteer,  showinR  tliat  the 

thought  of  marching  apainst  the  c-ncmv  was  the  one  tlominant 

sentiment  of  the  moment. 


245 


246  The  French  Revolution 

emblem  hung  on  a  tree  which  the  flames  are  rapidly 
consuming. 

The  King  appeared  at  the  fete  and  this  time 
mounted  the  steps  of  the  altar  of  the  fatherland 
to  take  the  oath  to  maintain  the  Constitution. 
But  he  reminded  Madame  de  Stael  of  a  sacrificial 
victim.  The  decree  of  "The  country  in  danger" 
inspired  one  of  the  best  artistic  productions  of  the 
whole  Revolutionary  period.'  It  is  entitled  "De- 
votion to  Country,"  and  there  is  a  life  and  move- 
ment to  it  that  must  have  thrilled  men  to  the  heart 
at  a  moment  of  such  danger  and  excitement.  On  a 
throne,  the  base  of  which  is  adorned  with  all  the 
Revolutionary  emblems,  including  the  huge  eye 
of  the  Jacobins,  sits  France;  while  another  figure, 
on  a  tall  pedestal,  bears  the  device:  "Citizens,  the 
country  is  in  danger ! ' '  Heroic  mothers  are  offering 
up  their  children;  jewels  are  being  laid  on  an  altar, 
while  wives  are  speeding  their  husbands  to  the 
front,  and  an  old  man,  leaning  on  a  crutch,  is 
giving  his  blessing.  Another  engraving,  called 
"Cupid,  the  Volunteer,"  "  shows  us  the  spirit  that 
undoubtedly  did  animate  the  French  patriots  at 
that  time.  This  military  ardour,  which  was  to 
accomplish  great  things,  is  the  most  sympathetic 
aspect  of  the  Revolution.  Here  was  something 
definite  to  do.  All  the  wild  exaltation,  all  the 
vows,  all  the  hopes,  were  to  be  transmuted  into 
action. 

Meanwhile  a  stirring  message  of  patriotic  good 
fellowship  had  been  received  from  the  south,  from 

'  Plate  108,  p.  244.  2  Plate  109,  p.  245. 


Downfall  247 

Marseilles.  A  picked  band  of  fiery  Revolutionists' 
announced  that  they  were  under  way.  Already 
on  June  20th  the  Assembly  had  received  a  letter 
signed  by  one  hundred  citizens  declaring  that 
French  liberty  was  in  peril;  that  the  men  of  the 
South  had  risen  to  defend  it ;  that  the  day  of  the 
wrath  of  the  people  had  come,  and  the  too  greatly 
angered  lion  was  about  to  quit  its  repose  and  spring 
upon  its  enemies. 

These  men  of  Marseilles  came  in  a  spirit  that 
was  hostile  to  the  very  idea  of  monarchy;  they 
were  ready,  if  need  be,  to  invoke  the  aid  of  fire 
and  sword.  They  sang  a  hymn  of  revolution  that 
everywhere  roused  patriots  to  frenzy.  The  words 
and  music,  combining  fervid  sentiments  and  stir- 
ring strains  of  melody,  gripped  all  hearts.  Rouget 
de  Lille,  the  composer,  had  caught  the  very  es- 
sence of  the  Jacobin  gospel.  The  "  Marseillaise  " 
was  a  hymn  to  the  God  of  Liberty.  It  found  most 
rapid  acceptance  everywhere.  It  was  taught  in 
the  schools,  was  preached  from  the  pulpit,  was  sung 
in  the  field.  We  find  it  published  in  London,  in 
that  same  year,^  and  the  vignette  at  the  head  shows 
the  troop  rollicking  on  to  the  scene  with  fife  playing 
and  drum  beating. 

There  is  nothing  original  in  the  words  of  the 
"Marseillaise."  It  is  simply  a  concentration  and 
co-ordination  of  the  old  well-known  similes  and 
metaphf  )rs.  The  day  of  glory  has  arrived  when  the 
impure  bkxxl  (jf  the  slaves  of  traitors  and  tyrants 

'  .Aularfl  <lcclarcs  that  they  wt-rc  rccruilctl  from  the  l>cst  families, 
.Morlimer-Terneux  that  they  were  ex-bandits.         '  Plate  i  lo,  p.  249. 


248  The  French  Revolution 

shall  water  the  free  furrows  of  France.  The  piti- 
less tigers  who  are  ready  to  tear  their  mother's 
breasts  shall  learn  what  Liberty  and  love  of 
country  can  accomplish.  We  have  a  representa- 
tion' of  some  of  this  devoted  band  hurrying  forward 
and  singing  the  chorus:  "To  arms,  citizens! 
Form  your  battalions ! ' ' 

Into  all  this  seething  mass  of  excitement  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
forces  of  Austria  and  Prussia,  hurled  a  bomb  that 
was  like  a  flash  of  lightning  setting  loose  all  the 
thunders  of  heaven.  He  lent  his  name  to  a 
blatant  manifesto,  composed  mainly  by  Calonne 
and  Fersen,  and  intended  ''to  inspire  a  wholesome 
terror. "  A  year  later  Brunswick  declared  that  he 
would  give  his  life  not  to  have  signed  the  docu- 
ment and  that  he  should  repent  of  it  to  his  dying 
day.^  Pains  were  taken  to  recount  in  detail  all  the 
sins  of  the  French,  all  their  ''attacks  on  the  throne 
and  the  altar. ' '  On  the  word  of  honour  of  the 
sovereigns,  "should  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries  be  as- 
sailed, should  the  least  act  of  violence  be  attempted 
against  the  royal  family,  vengeance  will  be  taken 
at  once  exemplary  and  memorable;  the  guilty  will 
be  handed  over  to  their  merited  punishment,  and 
the  city  of  Paris  to  military  execution  and  total 
overthrow ! "  ■* 

If  you  lash  a  spirited  horse  with  a  whip  and  it 
takes  to  flight,  the  damage  is  apt  to  assume  un- 
expected forms.     The  immediate  result  of  Bruns- 

•  Plate  1 1 1 ,  p.  25 1 .  2  Massenbach,  Memoiren,  L,  236. 

3  La  Revolution  Frangaise,  vii.,  87. 


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Plate  no.     The  words  .ind  music  <if  the  MarsvUlaisf.     From  a  copy  of  the 

song  pubhshcd  in  London  in  November,  1792. 

249 


250  The  French  Revolution 

wick's  manifesto  was  to  cause  intense  irritation 
against  the  King.  There  were  loud  calls  for  the 
overthrow  of  the  monarchy.  Assemblages  in 
forty-seven  out  of  forty-eight  sections  of  Paris 
joined  in  a  declaration  that  "the  first  link  in  the 
counter-revolutionary  chain  is  the  chief  executive 
power. "  One  section  openly  cast  off  its  allegiance 
to  Louis/ 

The  next  day,  it  is  true,  a  delegation  from  one  of 
the  sections  came  to  protest  that  the  declaration 
did  not  represent  the  sentiment  of  the  majority 
in  the  district;  but  the  agitators  in  such  a  case 
always  have  the  upper  hand.  Danton  and  other 
able  leaders  had  undoubtedly  resorted  to  all  the 
tricks  of  which  demagogy  is  capable.  There  was 
an  organized  plot  to  join  with  the  Marseilles 
patriots  and  hurl  Louis  XVI  from  the  throne. 

Petitioners  kept  coming  to  demand  that  the 
''persecutive  power"  be  destroyed;  that  the  Tuile- 
ries  be  razed  as  the  Bastile  had  been;  that  all 
decrees  passed  since  the  flight  to  Varennes  be 
rescinded;  that  the  rights  of  man  be  veiled  as  the 
ancients  veiled  the  statues  of  the  gods.^  Excite- 
ment was  running  so  high  that  deputies  whose 
sentiments  were  unpopular  were  not  only  insulted 
and  threatened  but  were  subjected  to  actual 
violence.  If  they  ventured  to  complain  in  the 
Assembly,  the  recital  of  their  woes  was  greeted  with 
roars  of  laughter  from  the  galleries.  One  had  been 
stoned,  another  pelted  with  filth,  another  almost 

'  Debats  et  Decrets,  August  4th. 

'  Debats  et  Decrets,  August  sth-gth. 


Plate  III.     A  representation  of  French  s<jldicrs,  full  uf  K'rim  determination, 
marching  to  the  chorus  "To  arms,  citizens!" 


251 


252  The  French  Revolution 

hung  to  the  lantern-bracket.  The  more  gruesome 
the  details  the  louder  the  mirth.  "In  your  very 
precincts  I  was  struck, ' '  cried  a  deputy.  ' '  Where  ? ' ' 
cried  a  voice.  'T  am  asked  where  I  was  struck — 
it  was  behind.  Assassins  never  strike  anywhere 
else."  A  member,  Vanblanc,  furious  at  all  the 
disorder,  spoke  plain  words  to  the  Assembly 
itself,  declaring  that  its  authority  was  gone  and 
that  it  was  simply  ridiculous  to  hear  the  president 
attempting  to  call  the  galleries  to  order. 

The  view  of  these  legislators  that  one  gains 
from  their  own  records  shows  them  to  have  been 
one  of  the  feeblest  bodies  that  ever  attempted  to 
rule  a  state.  They  made  no  opposition  when  the 
sections  of  Paris,  after  midnight  elections  con- 
ducted without  a  shadow  of  fairness,  installed  a 
new  governing  council  in  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  This 
council  then  delivered  an  ultimatum  to  the  As- 
sembly itself.  If  by  eleven  that  evening — it  was 
August  9th — the  dethronement  of  Louis  XVI  had 
not  been  decreed,  the  Tuileries  would  be  stormed 
and  pillaged. 

The  Assembly  was  not  intimidated  quite  to  the 
extent  of  at  once  obeying  this  order,  but  through 
the  long  night  the  deputies  remained  in  session 
anxiously  awaiting  developments.  At  half-past 
four  they  dispersed,  at  half-past  five  they  were 
hastily  summoned  together  again. 

They  knew  that  the  King  was  in  great  danger. 
Should  they  or  should  they  not  send  to  aid  him  as 
they  had  done  on  the  twentieth  of  June?  It  was 
objected  that  those  former  deputations  had  not 


Downfall  253 

been  treated  with  sufficient  respect.  Brissot  sug- 
gested inviting  the  King  to  take  refuge  with  the 
Assembly. 

The  Joiirfial  dcs  D chats  ct  Decrds'  tells  us 
that  in  the  midst  of  these  idle  debates  a  National 
Guard  appeared  at  the  bar.  He  announced  that  a 
body  of  troops  was  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  and 
had  pointed  its  cannon  against  the  gates  of  the 
Tuileries.  "If  our  king  has  sinned,"  he  added, 
"he  should  be  punished;  but  they  ought  not  to 
mur — "  and  his  voice  choked  with  emotion.  Mes- 
sengers kept  coming  with  fresh  announcements: 
a  head  on  a  pole,  that  of  Suleau,  the  journalist, 
struck  down  by  Theroigne  de  Alericourt  whom  he 
had  defamed;  an  armed  mob  surging  around  the 
Tuileries.  The  members  fell  to  discussing  once 
more,  should  they  or  should  they  not  go  to  the 
King's  aid?  The  question  was  answered  for  them. 
The  royal  party  stood  there  on  the  very  thresh- 
old. A  deputation  was  appointed  to  receive  them. 
"Their  clothes  were  all  in  disorder,"  writes  the 
same  deputy  who  had  spoken  such  plain  but  unwel- 
come words  to  them  on  the  twentieth  of  June,  "and 
they  hung  their  heads  just  like  wet  chickens."" 

What  had  happened?  Louis  had  guards  with- 
in the  palace  grounds  to  the  number  of  nearly 
three  thousand.  Many  to  be  sure  were  National 
Guards — on  whose  fidelity  no  reliance  could  be 
placed.  But  there  were  the  loyal  Swiss  merce- 
naries, obedient  to  the  death.  And  had  Louis 
shown  courage,  fully  half  of  the  National  Guards 

•  August  lOth.  '  Az6ma  (Rh'.  Fr.  xxvii..  177). 


254  The  French  Revolution 

would  have  rallied  to  him/  Not  all  had  refused 
to  cheer  him  when  he  reviewed  them  at  dawn  that 
morning,  though  some  had  cried  "Down  with  the 
veto ! "   "  Down  with  the  King ! ' ' 

But  he  had  given  up  the  struggle  although  the 
Queen  urged  him  to  resist.  They  had  walked 
across  the  garden  past  men  who  were  raking  leaves. 
''The  leaves  are  falling  early  this  year,"  was  the 
King's  only  recorded  remark.  His  own  life  was 
blighted  like  the  leaves. 

They  entered  and  were  escorted  through  the 
hall.  First  came  the  King  accompanied  by  his 
ministers,  and  followed  by  the  Queen,  by  the  little 
Madame,  by  Madame  Elizabeth,  Louis'  sister^ 
and  by  three  ladies  of  the  court.  A  grenadier 
bore  the  little  Dauphin  in  his  arms  and  placed  him 
on  the  president's  desk  under  the  care  of  the  secre- 
taries.^ Standing  beside  the  president,  Louis  ad- 
dressed the  house :  "  I  have  come  here  to  prevent  a 
great  crime.  I  shall  always  consider  myself  and 
my  family  safe  in  the  midst  of  the  nation's  repre- 
sentatives.    I  shall  pass  the  day  there." 

His  reception  was  not  unfriendly.  Vergniaud, 
the  president,  declared  that  the  National  Assembly 
knew  its  duties  and  that  it  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  cherished  of  these  the  maintenance  of  the 
constituted  authorities.  It  would  know  how, 
if  need  be,  to  die  at  its  post.  Would  one  believe  it, 
later,  as  evidences  of  royalism,  these  remarks  were 
to  prove  fatal  to  Vergniaud! 

Objection  was  presently  made  on  constitutional 

» V.  Sybel,  i.,  442.  ^  Debats  ct  Dccrcts,  August  loth. 


Downfall  255 

grounds  to  Louis'  presence  on  the  floor  of  the 
Assembly  hall.  He  and  his  family  were  rele- 
gated to  the  alcove  reserved  for  the  newspaper 
reporters. 

The  Debats  ct  Dccrets  describes  what  next 
happened  in  the  simplest  and  most  unscnsational 
language,  but  with  a  wealth  of  detail  that  puts  to 
shame  the  highest  dramatic  art.  Nor  does  the 
narrative  suffer  from  the  fact  that  the  reporter's 
point  of  observation  was  the  hall  of  the  National 
Assembly  and  not  the  Tuileries  palace.  These  mes- 
sengers, these  sounds  that  penetrate  the  hall,  the 
confusion,  the  dread — all  render  the  scene  more 
vivid,  the  succession  of  events  more  compre- 
hensible. 

First,  the  commander  of  the  National  Guards 
at  the  palace  appeared  and  announced  that  tlic 
gates  had  been  forced.  What  line  of  action  did  the 
Assembly  wish  him  to  pursue?  "There  are  citi- 
zens about  to  be  massacred,"  he  said;  "something 
must  be  done  to  save  them!"  Anxious  and  agi- 
tated, the  Assembly  sent  an  appeal  to  the  people 
and  despatched  a  deputation  of  twenty  members 
to  the  spot.  It  was  voted  to  send  commissioners, 
too,  to  confer  with  the  new  Revolutionary  authori- 
ties in  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  They  were  to  seek  out 
"all  those  in  whose  hands,  either  legally  or  illegally, 
there  may  reside  at  this  moment  any  authority 
whatever."  The  naming  of  the  commissioners 
was  in  progress  when  the  roar  of  cannon  was  heard 
and  with  it  other  sounds  of  a  great  tumult.  What 
was  happening  can  be  grasped  by  a  glance  at  the 


256  The  French  Revolution 

painting  of  Bertaux, '  an  artist  well  known  for  the 
general  correctness  of  his  productions. 

At  the  first  shot  the  spectators  in  the  galleries 
rose,  stretched  out  their  arms  to  the  deputies  and 
cried,  "Long  live  the  National  Assembly!  Long 
live  the  nation !  Long  live  Liberty  and  Equality ! " 
Then  an  officer  of  the  national  guard  rushed  in 
shouting  that  the  Swiss  guards  had  given  way. 
The  delegation  that  had  been  sent  now  returned 
having  been  unable  to  penetrate  the  crowd.  It 
declared  that  it  was  already  too  late  to  interfere. 
Between  the  volleys  from  the  cannon  there  could 
be  heard  quick  discharges  of  musketry.  No  one 
could  tell  how  the  struggle  had  begun. 

The  din  increased  from  moment  to  moment; 
the  tocsin  was  sounding  in  every  quarter.  There 
was  a  sudden  rattle  of  bullets  against  the  window- 
panes  of  the  hall  of  the  Assembl}^  There  were 
cries  of  "To  arms!  to  arms!"  Some  deputies  rose 
intending  to  make  their  escape.  Others  cried, 
"No,  no,  our  post  is  here,  and  here  we  must  die!" 
The  galleries  cheered;  the  whole  Assembly  rose 
and  repeated,  "Long  live  the  nation!" 

Soon  voices  were  heard;  there  were  shouts  of 
joy:  "  The  Swiss  are  vanquished !  Victory!"  The 
Assembly  broke  out  in  rejoicings.  Some  one  cried 
that  Petion,  the  adored  Mayor  of  Paris,  must  be 
set  at  liberty.  A  decree  was  passed  and  promul- 
gated to  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  inviting  "the 
magistrate  whom  the  people  cherishes  to  appear 
before  the  people's  eyes." 

'  Plate  112,  p.  257. 


C 


a 


u. 

O 
O, 

6 

*j 
a 
o 
o 


s 

o 


.1 

u. 

3 

o 


o 

(— • 
1— • 

c 

Ui 

O 

o 


n 
o 


a 

u 

a 


!57 


258  The  French  Revolution 

A  curious  change  had  come  over  the  Assembly. 
These  men  had  been  willing  to  die  for  the  Constitu- 
tion. Now  when  it  was  proposed  to  preface  the 
new  proclamation  with  ' '  Long  live  Liberty,  Long 
live  Equality,  Long  live  the  Constitution!"  there 
was  applause  for  the  first  two  sentiments  but 
silence  for  the  last  one. 

What  had  happened  at  the  Tuileries  was  this. 
The  National  Guards  had  gone  over  to  the  mob 
in  a  body.  The  Swiss  had  refused  to  yield  and 
had  stationed  themselves  on  the  stairway  of  the 
palace.  It  is  not  known  who  fired  the  first 
shot. 

The  King  had  failed  to  leave  any  instructions 
for  his  guards.  This  was  pardonable,  it  would 
seem,  as  he  could  only  imagine  that  the  attacks 
were  intended  for  his  person.  At  the  first  sound 
of  the  firing  he  had  despatched  an  order  to  the 
guards  to  retire.  It  was  a  well-meant  but  fatal 
order.  Seeing  the  Swiss  yield,  the  mob  pressed  on. 
The  retreat  became  a  massacre.  The  palace  was 
pillaged  and  set  on  fire.  Some  eight  hundred 
guards  perished  now  or  were  slaughtered  in  the 
prisons  in  the  early  September  days. 

A  worthy  monimient'  was  erected  to  their 
memory  by  their  own  fellow- citizens.  In  the  living 
rock  at  Lucerne,  Thorwaldsen  carved  his  splendid 
symbol:  the  great  lion  wounded  to  death  yet  still 
guarding  his  trust.  The  names  are  inscribed 
below  of  "those  who,  lest  they  should  break  their 
plighted  faith,  died  most  bravely  fighting." 

'  Plate  113,  p.  259. 


Plate  1 13.     A  representation  of  the  Hon  carvwl  in  the  rock  at  Luiemc  by 

Thorwaldscn  in  memory  <<f  the  Swiss  guards  who  fell  on  August  loth 

and  September  3r<l.     Prom  an  ^^h\  engraving. 

259 


260  The  French  Revolution 

There  was  no  longer  any  talk  in  the  Assembly  of 
"upholding  the  constituted  powers. "  The  rabble 
was  in  complete  control.  Every  word  in  defence 
of  the  King  was  cried  down  as  treason,  for  the 
ordeal  of  battle  had  declared  against  him.  The 
"new  magistrates  of  the  people,"  as  the  members 
of  the  Commune  called  themselves,  dictated  every- 
thing to  the  National  Assembly,  declaring  grandly 
that  they  still  regarded  the  Assembly  as  worthy  of 
confidence  but  would  brook  no  criticism  of  their 
recent  actions.  Only  the  French  people,  "your 
sovereign  and  ours,  united  in  primary  assemblies," 
could  be  the  judge  of  their  conduct.  "Know  that 
fire  has  broken  out  in  the  Tuileries, "  declared 
another  delegation  from  the  Commune,  "and  that 
we  shall  not  put  it  out  until  the  vengeance  of  the 
people  is  assuaged!"  As  if  any  political  agitators 
when  appealing  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  people 
ever  included  as  "people "  those  whose  opinions  did 
not  coincide  with  their  own ! 

The  National  Assembly  sacrificed  the  King  and 
at  the  same  time  shifted  all  responsibility  on  to 
other  shoulders.  In  a  decree  it  declared  that  the 
dangers  of  the  country  had  reached  their  climax; 
that  it  was  necessary  to  strike  at  the  root  of 
the  evil;  that  the  whole  trouble  came  from  dis- 
trust of  the  chief  executive,  and  that  there  was  a 
general  desire  to  see  the  authority  of  Louis  XVI 
revoked.  It,  the  Assembly,  would  "bury  itself 
under  the  ruins  of  the  temple  of  Liberty  rather 
than  see  that  Liberty  perish,"  and  therefore  now 
had  recourse  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  and 


Downfall  261 

was   issuing   a   solemn    summons   to   a    national 
convention. ' 

The  King  was  provisionally  suspended  from 
power,  and  the  royal  family  were  to  remain  within 
the  precincts  of  the  National  Assembly  until  safe 
quarters  could  be   provided   for  them  elsewhere. 

»  Debats  et  Dccrets  (also  La  Revolution  Franqaise,  vii.,  183). 


CHAPTER  VIII 


MASSACRE 


THE  place  of  detention  finally  decided  upon 
for  the  royal  family  was  the  so-called  Tem- 
ple, built  by  the  Knights  Templars  in  the 
Middle  Ages  and  situated  in  the  heart  of  Paris.  As 
Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette  drove  to  this 
their  last  earthly  abiding  place  in  common,  they 
were  subjected  to  every  kind  of  insult.  Proclama- 
tion had  been  made  that  no  one  might  take  off  his 
hat  to  them  under  penalty  of  death.  Among  the 
cries  recorded  were :  ' '  Down  with  the  pig ! "  "  Down 
with  the  perfidious  Austrian  woman!" 

For  two  days  the  royal  apartments  at  the  Tuile- 
ries  were  thrown  open  to  the  public,  and  any  one, 
we  are  told,  "might  go  and  satisfy  his  sad  and 
stupid  curiosity  in  this  palace  once  so  full  of  glory, 
but  now  heaped  high  with  corpses  and  dyed  red 
with  blood."  '  On  August  i6th  it  was  decreed  that 
the  contents  of  all  the  royal  palaces  should  be  sold 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Treasury.  Already  many 
articles  of  value  had  been  transferred  from  the 
Tuileries  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  The  palace  of 
Versailles  to-day,  bare  and  empty  as  it  stands,  is 

'  Peltier,  Tableau  de  Pans,  i.,  193. 

262 


Plate  114.     A  contemporary  newspaper  illustration  (from  the 

RC-voluttons  de  Paris)  oi  the  pulling  down  of  the  statues 

of  Louis  XIV  in  the  Place  Venddmc  and  the 

Place  des  \'icl<jircs. 


263 


264  The  French  Revolution 

yet  the  grandest  monument  of  modern  history: 
what  would  it  have  been  if  the  thousands  of 
objects  which  represented  all  that  was  best  in  the 
different  arts  of  the  time  had  remained  intact ! 

There  was  relentless  war  now  on  every  symbol, 
every  emblem,  every  reminder  of  royalty.  Formal 
decrees  of  the  Assembly  ordered  that  "all  monu- 
ments raised  to  pride,  prejudice,  and  tyranny," 
all  "statues,  bas-reliefs,  inscriptions,  and  other 
memorials  erected  in  public  squares,  temples, 
gardens,  parks,  etc.,"  be  removed.  The  huge 
equestrian  statue  of  Louis  XIV  in  the  Place 
Vendome,  as  also  the  statue  of  the  same  king  in 
the  Place  des  Victoires  from  the  base  of  which  the 
chained  slaves  had  already  been  removed  as  an 
insult  to  Equality,  came  crashing  down.'  Yes,  to 
such  incredible  lengths  did  the  hatred  and  disgust 
for  the  name  of  King  and  Queen  lead  these  ardent 
republicans  that  the  very  playing-cards  had  to  be 
changed  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land.  Knaves  also  were  tabooed  as  contrary  to 
Equality.  And  what  was  offered  in  return?  We 
find  in  one  pack^  four  Geniuses  (war,  art,  com- 
merce, and  peace) ;  four  Liberties  (worship,  the 
press,  the  professions,  marriage),  and  four  Equal- 
ities (of  duties,  of  rank,  of  colour,  and  of  rights). 
Liberty  of  marriage  includes  Liberty  of  divorce,  an 
achievement  of  which  the  Revolutionists  seemed 
particularly  proud. 

We  have  another  pack^  where  the  Kings  are 
Sages  (Solon,  Cato,  Rousseau,  Brutus) ;  the  Queens, 

•  Plate  114,  p.  263.  ^  Plate  115,  p.  265.         3  Plate  116,  p.  267. 


Plate  1 15.     A  rcprcscnUition  of  the  faced  cards  in  u  Revolutionar)-  pack. 
The  Kings  are  supplanted  by  "Geniuses,"  the  Queens  by  "  Liberties," 
and  the  Knaves  by  "Ivqualilies." 
265 


266  The  French  Revolution 

Virtues  (Justice,  Prudence,  Union,  and  Force) ;  and 
the  Knaves  Heroes  (Hannibal,  Horatius,  Mutius 
Scasvola,  and  Publius  Decius  Mus).  Doubtless 
there  were  many  other  ingenious  substitutes  for 
the  real  thing. 

Horace  Walpole  is  authority  for  the  fact  that 
the  royal  Bengal  tiger  became  the  National  Bengal 
tiger.  If  you  once  begin  to  wipe  out  so  general  a 
conception  as  that  of  king,  there  is  no  length  to 
which  one  will  not  have  to  go.  All  dramatic 
literature  that  had  to  do  with  kings  was  banished 
from  the  stage;  books  dedicated  to  kings  or  even 
printed  with  their  permission  were  destroyed,  and 
it  was  seriously  proposed  to  burn  the  whole  national 
library.  Dead  kings  in  their  marble  sarcophagi 
were  special  objects  of  attack,  and  it  is  well  known 
how  the  tombs  in  the  church  of  St.  Denis  were 
opened  and  the  royal  corpses  dragged  out  and 
insulted.  Henry  IV  was  found  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation;  he  was  placed  against  a  column  and 
a  patriotic  soldier  cut  off  his  beard  with  his  sword. 

Infinite  damage  to  art  was  done  by  all  this  van- 
dalism. Later  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the 
National  Convention  to  restrain  the  patriotic  ardour 
and  rescue  objects  of  real  artistic  value.  Its  report ' 
is  a  terrible  arraignment  not  only  ot  all  the  vindic- 
tiveness  but  of  the  gross  stupidity  that  was  often 
shown.  Paintings  had  been  defaced  merely  be- 
cause of  the  supposed  political  sentiments  of  the 
owners  or  artists;  the  committee  managed  to  save 
a  sculptured  stag  that  had  been  doomed  because  it 

'  Moniteur,  Sept.  2,  1794. 


^^:t^^^^^ 


Plate  116.     A  representation  of  Revolutionary  playing  cards  in  which  the 
Kings  are  "  Sages,"  the  Queens  "  Virtues,"  the  Knaves  "  Hert>es." 

a67 


268  The  French  Revolution 

recalled  to  mind  the  odious  hunting  privileges  of 
the  nobles! 


In  honour  of  the  storming  of  the  Tuileries  and 
at  the  same  time  as  a  memorial  to  the  dead,  a 
great  fete  was  celebrated  at  which  was  displayed 
every  sort  of  patriotic  symbol  and  emblem.  Over 
the  little  sheet  of  water  in  front  of  the  Tuileries 
palace  was  erected  a  pyramid  in  Egyptian  style, 
and  it  bore  the  inscription:  "Silence,  they  are  at 
rest!"  There  were  banners  with  the  names  of  the 
dead  and  others  with  recitals  of  the  King's  iniqui- 
ties. These  names  and  these  sentiments,  we  are 
told,  "first  desolated  the  hearts  of  the  onlookers, 
but  then  roused  them  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
indignation  against  the  authors  of  so  many  crimes." 
There  was  a  ' '  touching  group ' '  of  women  in  white 
and  black  who  bore  the  petition  for  Louis  XVI 's 
dethronement  that  had  been  drawn  up  after  the 
flight  to  Varennes,  and  it  was  explained  that  a  whole 
year  of  liberty  would  have  been  gained  had  it  been 
heeded  at  the  time.  France  would  have  been 
delivered  of  a  despot  who  was  the  born  enemy  of 
the  rights  of  man. 

A  huge  sarcophagus  containing  the  bodies  of 
the  fallen  (possibly  they  were  merely  symbolical 
bodies)  approached,  drawn  by  oxen,  through 
clouds  of  incense.  The  swords  of  the  patriots 
who  formed  the  escort  were  twined  with  oak  leaves, 
and  the  inscriptions  on  their  banners  breathed 
terrible  threats  of  vengeance  and  exhorted  widows 
and  mothers  to  weep  for  their  slain.     There  was 


Plate  117.     A  portrait  of  Robespierre.     P'rom  an  oil  painting. 


269 


270  The  French  Revolution 

an  image  of  Liberty  and  another  of  Law,  the 
escort  of  Law  being  made  up  of  judges. 

Such  celebrations  undoubtedly  were  a  means  of 
fanning  revolutionary  passions  into  flame.  But 
here,  as  on  many  another  similar  occasion,  one  sees 
the  ropes  and  pulleys  behind  the  scenes.  Had  it 
not  been  for  a  body  of  agitators  who  made  it  their 
chief  occupation  to  hound  and  lure  others  on, 
the  Revolution  might  have  ended  with  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Constitution.  The  Revolutiojis  de 
Paris  itself  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  all 
this  display  of  patriotism  at  the  fete  in  honour 
of  the  tenth  of  August  failed  of  its  effect ;  that  the 
"proper  sadness  and  holy  indignation"  were  not 
displayed  by  the  spectators ;  that  the  mourning  was 
evidenced  more  in  the  garments  than  in  the  faces ; 
that  "an  air  of  dissipation  and  even  of  noisy  joy" 
formed  too  great  a  contrast  to  the  symbols  of 
grief;  that  the  desired  illusion  was  destroyed. 

The  overthrow  of  royalty  had  been  the  work 
of  a  very  few  men.  The  chief  of  these  had  been 
enrolled  in  the  new  council  of  the  Commune 
which  now  governed  Paris.  To  all  intents  and 
purposes  it  also  governed  France.  Its  first  act 
was  to  appoint  a  new  ministry.  It  recalled 
several  of  those  whom  Louis  XVI  had  dismissed. 
Roland,  having  quitted  his  post  of  Minister  of 
Justice  with  the  nimbus  of  martyrdom,  was  now 
given  the  post  of  Minister  of  the  Interior.  Claviere 
was  made  Minister  of  Finance.  Danton  took  the 
important  position  of  Minister  of  Justice  and,  for 
a  time,  was  the  leading  man  in  France.     Robes- 


Massacre 


271 


picrre  and  Marat  were  members  of  the  council 
and  worked  for  the  cause  with  voice  and  pen. 
Petion,  against  whom  all  proceedings  in  connection 
with  his  attitude  on  the  20th  of  June  were  at  once 
dropped,  was  now  the  idol  of  Paris  and  resumed  the 
position  of  mayor,  from  which  he  had  been 
suspended. 

When  one  reflects  how  hastily  the  chief  offices 
of  state  were  filled  it  is  not  surprising  that  mis- 
takes were  made,  even  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
enrages.  Some  weeks,  however,  were  to  elapse 
before  these  mistakes  were  found  out.  Found  out 
by  whom?  By  the  Jacobin  Club,  of  whom  Robes- 
pierre was  the  leading  spirit.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
opposition  to,  or  agreement  with,  Robespierre's 
views  was  henceforth  to  mark  a  man  out  for  ruin 
or  advancement.  The  transactions  of  the  club' 
show  him  ever  in  the  foreground,  sternly  denounc- 
ing, coldly  disapproving. 

The  great  Mirabeau  had  once  said  of  Robes- 
pierre: "This  young  man  will  go  far;  he  believes 
all  that  he  says."  It  was  that  quality  of  fanati- 
cal sincerity  that  had  advanced  liiin  to  a  posi- 
tion where  he  was  to  the  Jacobins  what  the 
Orand  Inquisitor  had  been  to  the  Spanish 
Tribunal.  He  was  perfectly  consistent  when  he 
declared  it  possible  and  necessary  to  banish  every 
enemy  of  Liberty  from  the  soil  of  France. 

Robespierre's  face,  as  seen  in  his  portraits,"  is 
almost  benign:  not  at  all  in  accord  with  the  de- 
scriptions given  of  him  by  some  of  his  conti'mpo- 

'  Published  by  Aulard  in  five  volumes.  •  Plate  117,  j).  2(n). 


2']2  The  French  Revolution 

raries.  But  possibly  Merlin  de  Thionville  is  right 
when  he  dwells  on  the  changeableness  of  the  man's 
expression.  He  likens  him  to  a  cat:  sometimes  a 
sweet  domestic  cat  with  merely  a  certain  restive- 
ness  in  his  eyes,  but  then  again  a  ferocious  wild- 
cat. A  Miss  Williams,  who  saw  and  heard 
Robespierre  in  1794  declares  that  his  very  manner 
of  manipulating  his  eye-glasses  could  freeze  the 
beholder  with  terror.  Several  complain  of  the 
unsteadiness  of  his  gaze,  of  his  inability  to  look  one 
in  the  face. 

Robespierre  strongly  repelled  and  as  strongly 
attracted.  That  he  stood  so  firmly  for  hatred  of 
tyranny,  for  liberty,  and  for  the  sovereignty  of  the 
people  gave  him  a  strong  hold,  even  though  the 
more  penetrating  must  have  realized  his  enormous 
egotism.  His  ideas  were  drawn  mainly  from  Rous- 
seau, and  we  find  him  fighting  for  things  that 
Rousseau  advocated,  even  though  they  might 
seem  outside  the  sphere  of  the  politician.  One  has 
heard  of  a  modem  statesman  entering  the  lists  for 
large  families;  just  so  Robespierre,  in  season  and 
out  of  season,  insisted  that  the  mothers  in  France 
should  nurse  their  own  children.  Robespierre 
even  went  so  far  in  his  later  measures  for  the  relief 
of  the  indigent  as  to  make  this  a  condition  of 
rendering  state  aid  to  destitute  mothers. 

Robespierre  and  Danton  were  occasionally  in 
accord ;  fundamentally  they  differed.  Danton  was 
a  man  more  of  action  than  of  ideas.  He  had  been 
ward  politician  and  had  engineered  the  whole 
conspiracy  that  broke  out  on  August  loth.     Not 


i.    MAKQTIS    1)K    LA   FAYKTTE 
( •  OMM.iyn.t.S T  C KSKRAL 


I V   fit     ( /trt  i>, 


Plate  1 18.     A  p<irlniit  of  L;ifay«tli'  inK'ravi-d  at  the  time  of  his  appoiiitnicnl 
as  commander  of  the  National  (luartls. 

273 


274  The  French  Revolution 

that  he  was  uneducated.  He  is  known  to  have 
read  Shakespeare,  Adam  Smith,  and  Rousseau, 
and  rumour  even  went  so  far  as  to  credit  him  with 
reading  the  whole  of  the  Encyclopaedia.  Strange 
to  say,  Robespierre  was  eventually  to  find  Danton 
too  moderate.  Yet  it  was  Danton  who  uttered 
the  famous  "Audacity,  more  audacity,  still  more 
audacity."  It  was  now,  while  the  foreign  enemies 
were  at  the  gate,  that  Danton  was  at  his  best. 
Robespierre  was  more  concerned  about  the  ene- 
mies at  home.  He  had  his  own  little  group,  a 
conspirator's  club,  to  which  continually  he  kept 
adding.  The  members  of  this  club  were  men 
whose  worst  crime  was  to  hold  views  contrary  to 
his  own. 

The  Commune,  of  which  Robespierre  was  the 
mouthpiece,  now  simply  dictated  its  will  to  the 
moribund  Legislative  Assembly.  It  was  the  Com- 
mune that  had  insisted  on  the  Temple,  rather  than 
the  Luxembourg,  as  a  place  of  residence  for  the 
royal  family.  Through  the  Commune's  influence, 
too,  Lafayette,  after  having  long  been  the  object 
of  the  bitterest  attacks  in  the  Jacobin  Club,  was 
removed  from  his  command  as  head  of  the  Na- 
tional Guards.  We  have  a  portrait  of  Lafayette 
engraved  under  far  other  circumstances. ' 

It  was  the  Commune  which  insisted  on  the 
formation  of  a  separate  Revolutionary  Tribunal 
to  deal  exclusively  with  "traitors."  When  the 
National  Assembly  sought  to  modify  the  plan,  it 
was  simply  told  that  by  midnight  the  measure 

'  Plate  1 1 8,  p.  273. 


Massacre 


275 


must  be  passed  or  else  the  tocsin  would  be  sounded 
a  n  d  the  citi- 
zens called  to 
amis.  Within 
less  than  a  week 
after  the  stonn- 
i  n  g  of  the 
Tuileries  the 
sessions  of  the 
tribunal  had 
begun,  and  on- 
ly four  days 
later  the  first 
victim  had 
perished  by 
the  guillotine 
which  was  set 
up  in  the  Place 
du  Carrousel. 
"Ah,  what  a 
fine  prop  for 
Liberty!"  is 
the  inscription 
under  a  repre- 
sentation of  the 
guillotine'  that 
very  likely  was 
issued  at  this 
juncture.  Good 
Dr.    C'/uillotin! 


LAVl.HI  I  A...  ..  v..  li  i  v; .  .  ..>.     M  IM 


Plate   I  19. 


\  rcpri'sciUatioii  of  ilic  ^uillDiinc  as 
a  fine  prop  for  liberty. 


How   proud    lie   had   been   of   his   invention    and 


»  Plate  I  ly,  alxAc 


276  The  French  Revolution 

of  the  merciful  promptitude  with  which  it  put  an 
end  to  the  misery  of  the  condemned!  "With  my 
machine  I  cut  off  your  head  in  the  twinkhng  of 
an  eye  and  you  don't  notice  it  at  all!"  The  inex- 
tinguishable laughter  of  the  members  had  broken 
up  the  session  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  But,  alas, 
how  many  were  now  to  have  the  experience  the 
thought  of  which  had  caused  them  such  merriment ! 

Guillotin's  machine  at  the  moment  had  been 
a  mere  curiosity.  He  had  offered  to  decapitate  a 
few  sheep,  or  some  bodies  of  dead  men,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Assembly:  but  that  body  had  not 
felt  equal  to  the  experience.  Many  members  were 
opposed  to  capital  punishment.  As  late  as  May, 
1 79 1,'  even  Robespierre  had  denounced  it  as  "a 
cowardly  abuse  of  the  infinite  power  of  all  against 
one,"  as  "a  solemn  form  of  assassination,"  as 
"unjust,  ineffectual,  and  barbarous — like  the 
slaying  of  a  vanquished  and  captured  enemy." 

From  the  very  first  there  were  instances  of  fine 
bravery  and  self-possession  among  the  victims  of 
the  guillotine.  One,  a  scientist,  wrote  and  begged 
the  National  Assembly  to  have  his  blood,  which 
would  no  longer  be  of  any  use  to  himself,  transfused 
into  the  veins  of  an  older  man  to  see  if  the  result 
would  be  rejuvenation.  There  were  cases  innu- 
merable where  retributive  justice  overtook  those 
who  had  sent  others  to  the  guillotine,  but  doubtless 
none  more  striking  than  when,  also  in  these  earliest 
days,  the  executioner  in  the  very  act  of  holding  up  a 
severed  head  fell  off  the  platform  and  was  killed 

'  Debats  et  Decreis,  May  30th. 


Massacre 


-/  / 


himself.     That  Doctor  Giiillotin  perished  by  means 
of  his  own  invention  is  a  statement  often  met  with, 


Plate  1 20.     A  portrait  of  Danton.      From  an  oil  painting. 


but  it  is  untrue.  There  is  a  letter  of  his  in  the 
National  Archives,  written  lon^  after  tlu-  Reij^n  of 
Terror — a  mere  little  note,  but  cnouj^'h  to  show  that 


278  The  French  Revolution 

he  was  alive.  He  incidentally  sends  his  love  to 
Madame  Guillotin,  which  would  tend,  even,  to 
show  that  he  was  happy. 

With  such  props  as  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal 
and  the  guillotine  and  with  a  Legislative  Assembly 
only  too  anxious  to  efface  itself  and  be  gone,  the 
Commune  of  Paris  reigned  supreme. '  To  read  its 
addresses  to  the  provinces,  however,  one  would 
imagine  it  imbued  with  the  strongest  sense  of  the 
power  and  dignity  of  the  National  Assembly. 

Bull-faced  Danton^  and  his  fellows  had  inau- 
gurated a  marvellous  campaign  for  the  control 
of  public  opinion.  On  the  very  day  of  the  storming 
of  the  Tuileries,  an  iron  hand  had  descended  on  the 
press.  Every  sheet  with  the  least  royalist  tend- 
ency was  permanently  prohibited.  But  more 
than  this:  the  city  gates  had  immediately  been 
closed  and  none  but  patriots  allowed  to  go  out  and 
spread  the  news.  Throughout  the  city  there  were 
carefully  planned  nocturnal  visits,  and  thousands 
of  persons  suspected  of  royalism  were  arrested  and 
carried  off  to  prison. 

Aided  by  the  Jacobin  Society  the  work  of 
propaganda  was  undertaken  on  an  enormous  scale. 
Cost  was  a  mere  detail.  The  Legislative  Assembly 
was  made  to  vote  an  appropriation  of  six  million 
francs  for  secret  purposes.  One  hundred  thousand 
francs  was  to  be  used  immediately,  "for  the  print- 
ing and  distributing  throughout  the  departments 
and  in  the  armies  of  all  writings  fitted  to  enlighten 

'  Mortimer-Terneux  has  the  best  account  of  the  Commune's  excesses. 
2  Plate  120,  p.  277. 


Massacre  279 

men's  minds  as  to  the  criminal  plots  of  the  enemies 
of  the  state."'  Emissaries  were  instructed  to 
\'isit  even  the  smallest  towns  and  the  loneliest 
country  districts  and  "seek  to  discover  the  zealous 
patriots."  They  were  to  spread  their  literature 
"not  with  economy,  but  with  discernment,"  and  to 
rouse  the  energy  of  the  people  "by  all  sorts  of  power- 
ful reasonings  calculated  to  elevate  it  and  to  sustain 
it  at  the  highest  pitch  of  ardour  and  firmness.""' 
It  was  constantly  in  the  mouths  of  the  Communist 
orators  that  the  will  of  the  people  was  supreme: 
but  it  was  a  will  doctored,  moulded,  and  beaten 
into  shape  by  a  few  demagogues  with  an  almost 
superhuman  talent  for  organization. 

The  National  Assembly  employed  the  eloquent 
Condorcet  to  pen  a  defence  of  its  own  conduct 
and  to  explain  the  reasons  for  calling  a  National 
Convention.  The  document  shows  most  clearly 
how  one  and  the  same  event  can  be  made  to  assume 
two  totally  different  aspects.  Even  the  irruption 
into  the  Tuileries  on  the  20th  of  June  was  repre- 
sented as  a  most  pleasant  and  harmless  aft"air: 
"few  crowded  assemblies  have  passed  off  with  less 
disorder."  The  fault  lay  with  the  King  who  had 
issued  a  proclamation  full  of  calumnies;  while  his 
ministers  had  persistently  sowed  discord  between 
Paris  and  the  departments,  between  the  people 
and  the  army,  between  those  at  home  and  those 
on  the  fnmtier.  All  the  iniciuities  of  the  King 
himself,  of  the  emigres,  of  the  refractor}'  priests, 

•  Decree  of  August  l8th,  DuvtrKicr,  iv.,  423. 
'  Revolutions  de  Paris,  xiii.,  473. 


28o  The  French  Revolution 

are  passed  in  review.  Louis  had  gone  to  the  extent 
of  hiring  journaHsts  to  make  the  Parisians  odious 
to  the  rest  of  France.  And  then  that  manifesto 
of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick!  To  such  an  aristocrat, 
twenty-six  miUion  men  were  as  nothing  compared 
with  one  privileged  family!  Things  had  come  to 
such  a  pass,  continues  Condorcet,  that  the  Assem- 
bly had  finally  thought  best  to  accede  to  the 
demand  of  the  Commune  of  Paris  for  the  downfall 
of  the  King  and  to  vote  for  the  calling  of  the 
National  Convention.  In  the  new  elections, 
nature's  laws  alone  were  to  prevail;  there  were  to 
be  no  restrictions  that  could  hamper  the  sovereign 
people,  no  distinction  between  those  who  paid 
taxes  and  those  who  did  not. 

In  spite  of  all  this  eloquent  pleading,  the  high- 
handed action  of  the  Parisians  in  overthrowing  the 
French  monarchy  would  never  have  been  accepted 
with  such  equanimity  but  for  another  factor.  The 
enemy  was  literally  at  the  gates :  the  spectre  of  for- 
eign invasion  had  become  a  reality.  The  sacred 
soil  of  France  was  imperilled:  whatever  happened, 
whoever  suffered,  these  foes  must  be  driven  back. 
All  other  feelings,  even  those  of  common  humanity, 
were  stifled. 

It  was  a  case  where  Paris  alone  could  take  the 
lead.  The  National  Assembly,  on  the  eve  of  dis- 
persing and  cowed  into  submission  by  the  Com- 
mune, was  powerless.  Where  could  such  energy 
be  found,  as  with  Danton  and  his  like?  Their 
methods  might  be  brutal,  diabolical,  including,  as 
they   did,   the   searching   of  domiciles,   wholesale 


Massacre  281 

arrests  and  proscriptions,  arbitrary  sequestrations. 
All  of  the  twenty  thousand,  for  instance,  who  had 
signed  the  petition  protesting  against  the  violence 
done  to  the  King  on  June  20th  were  regarded  as 
unpatriotic  and  shadowed  as  enemies.  But  all 
murmurs  against  injustice,  all  groans  of  distress, 
were  silenced  by  the  high  notes  of  patriotism.  The 
whole  city  was  full  of  the  clang  of  arms  and  the 
rush  of  warriors:  "We  bum  to  face  the  enemy," 
cried  the  spokesman  of  one  of  the  innumerable 
little  bands  that  came  to  the  Assembly's  hall  before 
departing  for  the  frontier;  "let  them  tremble,  those 
proud  soldiers  of  despotism.  .  .  .  Continue,  legis- 
lators, to  combat  tyranny  and  strengthen  liberty, 
and  with  their  bodies  the  French  soldiers  will  make 
for  you  a  rampart!" 

We  have  the  form  of  oath  that  the  young  warriors 
pronounced  in  the  Assembly:  "I  swear  to  be  faith- 
ful to  the  nation,  to  uphold  liberty  and  equality, 
to  die  in  defending  them!"  And  these  men  were 
sincere  and  really  brave.  The  brightest  feature  of 
the  Revolution  was  this  military  ardour  that  was 
to  carry  all  before  it.  From  first  to  last  something 
like  a  million  men  were  put  into  the  field.  When 
arms  and  ammunition  failed,  pikes  were  hastily 
welfled  from  iron  gratings,  bullets  were  moulded 
from  church  bells,  and  saltpetre  for  gunpowder 
was  scraped  from  the  floors  of  cellars. 

The  amiies  in  the  field  all  recognized  the  new 
order  of  things,  and  Lafayette's  troops  abandoned 
him  when  he  tried  to  organize  revolt.  He  w.is 
obliged  to  fly  for  his  life,  and  crossed  the  froiUii-r 


282  The  French  Revolution 

to  remain  a  prisoner  of  the  Austrians  for  years. 
How  the  patriots  execrated  him!  No  symbol  of 
shame  was  considered  too  vile.  It  was  proposed 
to  raze  his  house  to  the  ground  and  erect  on  the  spot 
a  column  that  should  perpetuate  his  infamy.  He 
was  burned  in  effigy,  and  a  medal  that  had  once 
been  decreed  in  his  honour  was  publicly  broken 
by  the  executioner  on  the  scaffold. 

Hatred  against  the  King,  meanwhile,  was  kept 
at  a  white  heat.  Compromising  letters  had  been 
found  in  a  secret  hiding  place- — ^an  iron  safe  let 
into  the  wall.  There  was  mystery  about  the  dis- 
covery. The  man  who  had  made  the  safe  had 
informed  Roland,  and  Roland  had  kept  the  papers 
in  his  possession  for  more  than  two  hours  before 
imforming  the  committee  appointed  to  search  for 
such  evidence.  Had  Roland  tampered  with  the 
letters  for  his  own  purposes  and  extracted  such 
ones  as  would  have  compromised  his  Girondist 
friends?  Or  it  is  possible  that  other  documents 
were  inserted  in  order  to  make  the  case  more  plain 
against  the  King?  Louis  XVI  at  his  trial  denied 
their  authenticity  and  urged  that  the  letters  be 
submitted  to  an  expert  in  handwriting;  but  this 
his  accusers  refused  to  permit. 

Among  the  secrets  revealed  by  the  iron  safe  was 
that  of  Mirabeau's  dealings  with  the  court.  In  an 
instant  the  great  man's  glory  faded  to  an  ashen 
grey.  We  have  a  remarkable  cartoon,  entitled 
"Royal  Correspondence."'  The  doors  of  the 
great  cupboard  are  thrown  open  and  the  skeleton 

'  Plate  121,  p.  283. 


Plate  121.     A  carlfxm  representing  the  opening  of  the  secret  iron  s;ife,  and 

shcAving  Rfjland  and  the  man  who  liad  betraye<l  the  secret  facing  the 

skeleton  of  Mirabeau,  which  holds  the  crown  in  one  hand  and  a 

bag  of  money  in  the  other. 


28.3 


284  The  French  Revolution 

of  Mirabeau  appears  throned  on  the  books  and 
papers.  One  hand  rests  on  the  royal  crown,  in 
the  other  is  a  bag  of  money.  Roland,  in  the  corner, 
spreads  out  his  hands  in  amazement,  while  above, 
Louis  XVI,  as  a  serpent,  vomits  into  a  cap  of 
Liberty. 

One  can  imagine  to  what  frenzied  denunciations 
of  Louis  these  revelations  gave  rise.  He  is  a 
monster  who  has  been  fattening  on  crime.  With  his 
Austrian  pantheress  he  had  plotted  the  annihila- 
tion of  those  in  authority  as  well  as  of  the  Jacobin 
Club — yes,  he  had  intended  to  set  fire  to  Paris  and 
reduce  it  to  a  heap  of  ruins  and  of  corpses.  One 
paper  regrets  that  the  "holy  wrath  of  the  country  " 
has  not  yet  sent  to  the  guillotine  "Louis  Nero 
and  Medicis  Antoinette."  The  rabble  is  bidden 
to  rise  and  shed  blood :  ' '  Despotism  has  been  the 
aggressor,  now  it  succumbs.  No  mercy!  Let  it 
die!" 

The  cartoons  reflect  the  same  tone.  We  have 
one  called  "Louis  the  Traitor,  read  thy  sentence, " ' 
where  a  great  hand  is  writing  on  the  wall:  "God 
has  judged  thy  reign  and  put  an  end  to  it.  Thou 
hast  been  weighed  in  the  balance  and  found 
wanting."  Beneath  is  a  guillotine  with  "She 
awaits  the  guilty  one,"  while  a  long  text  reads  as 
follows : 

A  hundred  times  guilty  and  a  hundred  times  pardoned 
Louis  the  Last  has  too  greatly  tried  the  amiability  and 
generosity  of  the  people  not  to  realize  himself  that  he  must 
have  worn  out  all  the  sentiments  of  humanity  that  alone 

■  Plate  122,  p.  285. 


i5Tr!rTFrNc  I 


/-'//'Of/r,    /^v///    A//V 


Plate  122.      A  cartoon  representing  the  haiidwriling  on  the  wall  and  l)i(1iling 

L/Juis  the  Traitor  read  his  sentenee.     God  has  wei^he<l  him  in  the  balance 

and  found  him  wanting.     Below,  the  guillotine  awaits  him. 

2H5 


286 


The  French  Revolution 


a  remnant  of  pity  could  have  retained  for  him  these  four 
years.  His  conscience  is  doubtless  his  crudest  executioner, 
and  would  that  it  were  possible  to  abandon  him  to  this 
internal  torment  a  thousand  times  worse  than  death.  But 
the  most  sacred  of  laws,  the  safety  of  twenty-four  million 


Plate  123. 


A  cartoon  likening  Louis  XVI  to  a  piece  of  out-of-date  money 
and  recommending  that  he  be  melted  up. 


people,  requires  that  he  be  judged ;  and  the  glory  of  France, 
bound  up  in  the  judgment  of  the  present  and  of  future 
generations,  requires  that  he  be  punished.  In  the  present 
state  of  France  and  the  dangerous  agitation  of  Europe, 
how  can  this  monster  be  considered  in  any  other  light  than 
that  of  a  rallying  point  for  counter-revolutionists  and  a 
nucleus  of  counter-revolution  ?  Does  sound  policy,  then, 
permit  in  his  favour  a  clemency  which,  sooner  or  later,  might 
cause  the  overthrow  of  the  Republic  ? 

We  have  another  representation  in  a  jocose  vein."^ 

'  Plate  123,  above. 


2- 


Massacre  287 

A  National  Guard  stands  at  attention  before  a 
great  coin  with  Louis  XM's  likeness  and  a  Dei 
Gratia.  A  bystander  asks  him:  "Wliat  are  you 
doing  there?"  "I  am  guarding  this  great  coin 
that  nobody  wants  any  more."  "Ah,  why  don't 
you  melt  it  up;  you  might  get  something  at  all 
events." 

On  August  26,  1792,  came  tidings  that  threw 
the  most  excitable  nation  in  the  world  into  a 
deadly  panic.  Despatches  from  Verdun  announced 
the  surrender  of  the  fortress  of  Longwy.  So  the 
enemy  was  actually  in  possession  of  French  soil! 
The  Assembly  sanctioned  the  most  astounding 
measure  ever  passed  by  a  parliament.  Twelve 
hundred  volunteers  were  to  be  called  out  to  act  as 
tyrannicides  and  compass  the  death  by  any  means 
whatever  of  the  hostile  kings  and  generals.  It  is 
true  the  measure  was  soon  reconsidered,  but  the 
wonder  of  it  is  that  it  could  ever  have  been  passed. 
Another  measure,  voted  in  holy  indignation 
against  the  inhabitants  of  Longwy  for  being  so 
base  as  to  surrender,  was  that  every  private  house 
in  the  place  should  be  razed  to  the  ground  and 
every  inhabitant  lose  his  rights  as  a  French  citizen 
for  ten  years  to  come. 

The  one  idea  of  the  Commune  was  to  spread 
alarm  in  Paris  and  make  people  believe  that  they 
were  in  danger  fnmi  those  about  them  as  well  as 
irom  those  at  the  frontier.  An  address  and  a 
deputation  were  sent  to  the  National  Assembly 
itself  "to  unmask  the  traitors  that  arc  in  its 
midst."     Yes,  in  the  very  committee  meetings— 


288  The  French  Revolution 

so  it  was  declared — plots  were  being  hatched. 
The  Commune  decreed  the  arrest  of  a  journalist, 
Girey  Dupre,  who  had  dared  to  criticize  the  noc- 
turnal domiciliary  visits,  and  its  troops  even  sur- 
rounded the  house  of  the  Minister  of  War,  where 
Girey  Dupre  was  supposed  to  be  in  hiding/ 

The  National  Assembly  was  at  last  stung  into 
retaliation.  It  cashiered  the  council  of  the  Com- 
mune and  ordered  new  elections.  The  council 
refused  to  be  intimidated.  One  of  the  members 
called  to  mind  that  all  had  taken  oath  never  to 
abandon  their  posts  so  long  as  the  country  was  in 
danger.  This  fierce  internal  conflict,  therefore, 
was  added  to  all  the  other  horrors.  The  Commune 
won.  It  had  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Assembly 
with  an  address  drawn  up  by  Robespierre.  Weight 
was  laid  upon  the  great  services  of  the  Commune 
to  the  Revolution:  ''You  have  heard  us,"  was  the 
peroration.  "Speak!  we  are  there!  .  .  .  Never 
will  we  betray  the  interests  of  the  people.  Such 
cowardice  is  unworthy  of  us,  unworthy  of  our 
fellow-citizens!"  The  perils  of  the  moment  made 
reconciliation  more  easy:  "This  is  no  time  for 
disputing,"  cried  Vergniaud;  "we  must  dig  the 
grave  of  our  enemies  or  each  step  in  advance  will 
dig  our  own."  The  Assembly  was  finally  trapped 
into  a  decree  that  virtually  restored  to  the  Com- 
mune all  its  old  power. 

Graves  were  to  be  needed  soon  enough  and  in 
great  quantities. 

On  September  2d  came  the  terrible  announce- 

'  All  this  is  described  at  length  by  Mortimer-Terneux. 


Massacre  289 

ment  that  the  Austrians  and  Prussians  were  be- 
sieging Verdun  and  that  this,  the  only  fortress 
between  the  invaders  and  Paris,  could  not  hold  out 
for  more  than  a  week.  As  before,  the  Commune 
seemed  to  think  that  the  best  policy  was  to  frighten 
people  as  badly  as  possible.  It  voted  that  its  own 
members  should  disperse  among  the  sections, 
should  "depict  with  energy  to  their  fellow- 
citizens"  the  desperate  state  of  affairs,  and  should 
"represent  to  them  forcibly  how  liberty  is  threat- 
ened, French  territory  invaded."  All  suspects  and 
cowards  were  to  be  disarmed,  all  able-bodied 
men  enrolled.  Even  the  horses  in  Paris  were 
declared  public  property  to  be  used  in  the  great 
struggle. 

There  were  dramatic  incitements  to  bravery 
and  constancy.  Frenchmen  were  urged  to  let 
themselves  be  buried  under  their  country's  ruins 
rather  than  return  to  ignomiinious  slavery;  not  to 
surrender  their  homes  before  they  were  reduced 
to  mere  heaps  of  ashes. 

But  there  were  other  cries,  more  fraught 
with  danger.  These  priests  who  had  refused 
to  take  the  civic  oath,  were  they  not  equally 
the  enemies  of  good  republicans?  Should  not 
the  earth  be  rid  of  these  traitors  with  whom  the 
prisons  were  filled?  C)ne  section  of  Paris,  tlie 
Poissonicre,  decreed  on  its  own  responsibility 
that  all  priests  and  all  suspects  in  the  prisons 
of  Paris,  (Orleans,  and  elsewhere  should  be  put 
to  death. 

It  would  carry  us  too  far  to  enter  into  all  the 


290  The  French  Revolution 

details  of  these  awful  massacres  of  September/ 
Some  fourteen  hundred  victims  fell  in  three  days 
slaughtered  in  the  prison  yards  as  one  butchers 
animals.  The  claim  that  there  was  any  legality 
whatever  to  the  matter  is  absurd.  We  do  find 
tribunals  active  in  the  case  of  every  prison.  But 
they  were  popular  tribunals  in  the  worst  sense  of 
the  word,  for  no  one  can  imagine  for  a  moment 
that  they  represented  the  real  will  of  the  French 
people.  Judges  hastily  appointed  by  themselves 
or  by  those  around  them  asked  a  few  perfunctory 
questions  and  then  let  loose  the  victims  among  the 
so-called  travailleurs  or  workers  in  blood.  Some 
few  of  the  prisoners  were  acquitted;  them  "the 
people"  received  with  extravagant  joy.  They 
have  left  harrowing  tales  of  their  experiences.^ 

Who,  in  especial,  perpetrated  these  massacres? 
It  is  safe  to  infer  that  it  was  the  same  band  of  men 
who  had  successfully  plotted  to  overthrow  Louis 
XVI  about  three  weeks  before.  Among  them  now, 
as  then,  were  many  federes  of  the  kind  that  had 
marched  from  Marseilles.  But  they  were  merely 
instruments  of  a  higher  will.  The  chief  responsi- 
bility rested  with  the  Commune,  and  it  is  indeed 
strange  to  witness  the  spectacle  of  a  recognized  city 
government,  lending  its  countenance  to  such 
murderous  orgies. 

We  have  the  protocol  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Commune  during  the  critical  days.-^     It  requires 

'  Many  original  documents  are  contained  in  the  Memoires  de  Sep- 
tembre  (Paris,  1823). 

^  Riouffe's  narrative  went  through  countless  editions. 
3  Memoires  de  Septembre,  166  ff. 


Massacre 


291 


little  astuteness  to  be  able  to  read  between  the 
lines.  In  the  very  midst  of  the  massacres  it  sends 
to  the  different  prisons  to  protect  tJiosc  incarcerated 
for  debt.     So  the  others  it  considers  fair  prey !     On 


Plate  124.     A  gruesome  cartoon  making  fun  of  the  priests  whu  were  massacred 
on  September  3,  1792.     They  arc  represenleii  us  having  had  their 

nosci  pulled. 

September  3d,  indeed,  the  Commune  expresses 
itself  as  "greatly  alarmed  and  touched  by  the 
rigorous  measures  being  employed  against  the 
prisoners."  It  even  appointed  delegates  to  "calm 
the  eflervescence  and  bring  back  to  right  principles 
those  who  may  have  gone  astray."  'Hiis  from  a 
body  of  men  ready  to  surround  the  hall  of  tin* 
National  Assembly  at  a  moment's  notice  and  put 


292  The  French  Revolution 

through  some  decree  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet! 
How  different  the  language  employed  when  the 
Commune  was  really  distressed  or  alarmed!  And 
how  sympathetically  now  it  listens  to  every  argu- 
ment in  favour  of  the  murderers,  to  every  alleged 
proof  of  a  vast  conspiracy  on  the  part  of  the  pris- 
oners to  elude  their  jailors  and  massacre  all  the 
patriots ! 

There  are  strange  entries  in  the  financial  accounts 
of  the  Commune' :  "For  those  labouring  to  preserve 
the  salubrity  of  the  air  on  September  3d,  4th,  and 
5th,  and  for  those  who  presided  at  these  dangerous 
operations, "  so  and  so  much;  or  so  much  "for  time 
spent  in  expediting  priests  of  St.  Firmin."  If  any 
one  doubts  the  bloodthirsty  spirit,  the  absolute 
suppression  of  all  merciful  feeling  in  certain  circles 
at  that  time,  he  has  only  to  look  at  the  cartoon 
entitled,  "Last  procession  of  the  refractory  priests 
on  August  31,1 792 . "  ^  It  must  have  been  thought 
out,  drawn,  and  ptiblished  in  the  very  midst  of  the 
massacres.  More  than  once  we  have  seen  such 
pitiless,  tigerish  productions,  but  none  equal  in 
heartlessness  to  this. 

A  banner  above  bears  the  inscription,  "Who 
laughs  Friday  shall  weep  Sunday"  (The  mas- 
sacres had  come  between!)  The  clergy  are  repre- 
sented as  entering  the  church  of  the  Carmelites, 
which  was  to  be  their  prison,  after  having  their 
noses  pulled! 

France  possessed  at  that  time  a  Minister  of 
Justice,   Danton,   who  was  probably  one  of  the 

'  Also  in  Memoires  de  Septembre.  ^  Plate  124,  p.  291. 


Massacre  293 

chief  instigators  of  the  massacres.  At  all  events 
he  later  assumed  the  responsibility,  declaring: 
"It  was  I  who  caused  them.  Rivers  of  blood  had 
to  flow  between  us  and  our  enemies."'  He  made 
no  recorded  protest,  took  no  steps  to  prevent  the 
massacres. 

But,  indeed,  the  general  absence  of  protest,  at 
the  moment  at  least,  is  one  of  the  strangest  features 
of  this  whole  affair.  It  speaks  volumes  for  the 
cowed  condition  of  all,  Assembly  and  press  included. 
The  Assembly  did  not  issue  any  decree  on  the 
subject  until  the  massacres  had  already  been  in 
progress  for  thirty-six  hours.  Even  then,  it  merely 
urged  cessation  and  called  for  reports.  The 
Commune  reassured  it.  Only  the  guilty  had 
fallen.  Both  judges  and  executioners  had  acted 
from  the  purest  motives.  Why  a  nian  who  tried 
to  steal  a  pocket  handkerchief  had  been  put  to 
death  for  the  crime!" 

The  silence  of  the  press  would  have  been  in- 
comprehensible— there  was  not  a  single  case  of 
outspoken  disapproval  of  the  massacres — did  we 
not  have  to  remember  that  all  newspapers  not  in 
good  favour  with  the  Commune  had  l)een  sup- 
pressed on  the  tenth  of  August. 

And  how  did  the  Commune  render  account  <»f 
its  actions  to  the  provinces?  As  follows;  and  the 
wording  of  the  circular  drawn  up  by  Marat  and 
countersigned  i)y  Danton     (his  defenders  have  all 

•  My  authority  for  this  is  oral.  Danion  usc<l  thc-sc  wonls  t<.  tlif 
future  Ixniis  Philippf,  \vhos<-  •^■n  r.])calcd  thiin  to  my  informant,  a 
wcU-knrjwn  Dutch  (hplomat.  '  Duvcrgicr,  iv.,  jij 


294  The  French  Revolution 

sorts  of  theories  to  explain  the  latter' s  action) — 
fairly  makes  one's  flesh  creep.  There  is  talk  of 
"acts  of  justice  which  seemed  indispensable  in 
order  to  check  by  terror  these  legions  of  traitors ' ' ; 
then  the  hope  is  expressed  that  the  entire  nation 
''will  hasten  to  adopt  this  most  necessary  meatts 
of  public  salvation,''  and  that  all  will  cry  with  the 
Parisians:  "We  march  against  the  enemy  but  we 
leave  behind  us  no  brigands  to  slaughter  our  women 
and  children!" 


CHAPTER  IX 

WAR 

THE  National  Convention  called  for  the  pur- 
pose of  dealing  with  the  King — the  name 
National  Convention  was  borrowed  directly 
from  America — met  on  September  21,1 792.  That 
unfair  methods  were  used  in  the  elections  is  un- 
doubted. Even  among  the  ardent  upholders  of  the 
Revolution  to-day  it  is  merely  a  question  of  how  far 
the  results  were  affected  by  intimidation.  Knowing 
the  general  spirit  of  the  Jacobins  as  we  do,  and  con- 
sidering that  the  hall  of  their  club  was  the  chief 
election  booth  in  Paris;  considering,  too,  their  atti- 
tude towards  aristocrats  and  the  fact  that  each 
voter  was  compelled  to  give  an  account  of  himself 
before  casting  his  ballot  and  then  to  do  so  orally  and 
publicly,  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding was  not  a  farce  as  far  as  finding  out  the 
real  will  of  the  people  was  concerned. 

It  is  a  curiosity  in  parliamentary  history  that  so 
small  a  minority  as  that  formed  by  the  cnni^i's  or 
extreme  Jacobins  should  have  been  so  pt)werful. 
They  numbered  but  about  fifty  out  of  seven 
hundred    and    forty-five    members.     But    among 

295 


296  The  French  Revolution 

them  were  fanatics  like  Robespierre,  Danton,  and 
Marat,  not  to  speak  of  St. -Just  and  Collot-d' 
Herbois;  while  the  whole  radical  element  of  Paris 
was  at  their  beck  and  call.  Just  why  the  party 
was  called  the  Mountain  is  not  clear.  Because  of 
the  loftiness  of  their  sentiments,  is  an  explanation 
one  of  them  gave  at  the  time.  Or  was  it,  as  has 
often  been  stated,  because  they  occupied  a  higher 
tier  of  seats  in  the  hall? 

The  Girondists,  who  stood  to  the  Mountaineers 
as  the  Ghibellines  had  stood  to  the  Guelphs,  out- 
numbered them  by  more  than  two  to  one.  It  is 
generally  considered  that  their  organizing  power  was 
defective  as  compared  with  that  of  their  opponents ; 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  they  had  no  such 
backing  as  that  of  the  Mountain  by  the  Commune. 
While  the  members  who  formed  the  nucleus  of  the 
party,  save  for  Brissot,  were  from  the  department 
of  the  Gironde,  many  were  from  other  departments. 
Almost  immediately  they  felt  the  need  of  some 
counterpoise  to  this  enormous  influence  of  the 
Parisian  rabble,  and  one  of  their  chief  sins  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Mountain  was  the  bringing  forward  of  a 
measure  to  have  the  National  Convention  guarded 
by  an  armed  force  drawn  equally  from  all  the 
departments. 

The  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Roland,  was  of 
their  party,  and  so  were  the  Minister  of  Finance, 
Claviere,  and  the  Mayor  of  Paris,  Petion.  Roland 
and  Petion  especially  had  for  a  time  enjoyed 
enormous  popularity.  But  to  judge  by  the  de- 
bates in  the  Jacobin  Club,  all  through  the  months 


Plate  125.     A  p<jrtrait  of  Rolaml.     Fmm  an  old  i-nKraving. 


297 


298  The  French  Revolution 

of  October  and  November,  1792,  the  chief  task  of 
that  society  was  to  shatter  these  idols. 

Roland  was  really  Madame  Roland;  for  he, 
himself,  whose  face'  reminds  one  more  of  some 
gentle,  stolid  equine  than  of  anything  else,  was 
guided  in  all  things  by  her  powerful  personality. 
Her  influence  was  no  secret.  It  was  well  known 
that  she  wrote  his  speeches  and  letters.  At  the 
very  outset,  when  it  was  a  question  of  inviting 
Roland  to  retain  the  post  of  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
Danton  had  cried:  "If  you  invite  him  you  must 
also  invite  Madame  Roland,  for  every  one  knows 
that  Roland  has  not  been  alone  in  his  department ' ' ; 
and  Marat,  once  demanded  that  an  address  "be 
returned  to  its  place  of  origin,  the  boudoir  of  the 
woman  Roland." 

But  Madame  Roland  was  more  than  the  alter 
ego  of  her  husband.  She  has  been  well  called  the 
mother  of  the  Girondists.  She  was  in  constant 
communication  with  the  leading  members  of  the 
party,  some  of  whom  were  always  dining  at  her 
house.  Her  salon  was  a  hotbed  of  new  ideas. 
She  was  a  woman  of  great  beauty  and  had  her 
warm  admirers  who  treated  her  as  a  saint — some 
one  had  her  face  reproduced  on  the  cover  of  a 
bonbonniere  and  it  is  one  of  the  finest  portraits  of 
her.^  She  was  a  very  human  saint,  for  she  fell 
in  love  with  Buzot,  one  of  her  Girondists.  It  was 
impossible  for  her  to  love  dry  old  Roland  as  well, 
and  honesty  compelled  her  to  tell  him  so;  which 
greatly   embittered   his   life.      But    such   fidelity 

'  Plate  125,  p.  297.  *  Plate  126,  p.  299. 


War 


299 


and    loyalty   as   she   could  give  were  his  to  the 
last. 

The  transactions  of  the  Jacobin  Club  show  that 


Plate  126.     A  portrait  of  Madame  Roland  takin  from  the  cover  of  a 
bonbonniire  in  the  Mu.s6e  Carnavalct. 

one  of  the  chief  grievances  against  Roland  was  his 
disseminating,  with  public  funds,  of  an  address 
in  which  Louvct  bitterly  assailed  the  great  pillar 
of  the  Mountain  Party,  Robespierre.  Week  after 
week  the  tirades  on  this  subject  continue  and,  as 
usual,  the  cartoonists  were  pressed  into  the  service. 


300 


The  French  Revolution 


We  have  a  caricature  of  Roland  as  a  cock  and 
Madame  Roland  as  a  hen.'  Some  of  the  details 
of  the  production  are  unintelligible — to  the  author 


Plate  127.     A  caricature  of  Monsieur  and  Madame  Roland. 

at  least — but  Coco  is  a  term  of  endearment  that 
Madame  Roland  was  wont  to  apply  to  her  husband. 
This  caricature  gives  the  clue  to  a  very  clever 
rebus^  which,  to  the  author  of  this  book,  long 
seemed  undecipherable.  It  may  be  that  even  now 
the  solution  is  incomplete  and  the  author  will  be 


'  Plate  127,  p.  300. 


Plate  128,  p.  301. 


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302  The  French  Revolution 

grateful  for  any  corrections.  The  puzzle  has  been 
a  sleep-wrecker.  Avis  aux  ho?inetes  gens.  (A 
warning  to  honest  folk,  i.e.,  to  the  good  Jacobins.) 
Petion  de  Villeneuve  deux  fois  mai-re  de  Paris  grand 
premier  mouchard.  (Petion  de  Villeneuve,  twice 
mayor  of  Paris,  [is]  an  A  No.  i  spy.)  Egalement  en 
preeminence  la  so?it  Rola?id  qui  foule  la  liberie  et 
Claviere  qui  la  traine  dans  la  houe  avec  cent  torts  a  la 
fraternite.  Des  trois  le  meilleur  ne  vaut  rien. 
(Prominent  equally  there  are  Roland  who  tramples 
on  Liberty  and  Claviere  who  drags  it  in  the  mire 
with  a  hundred  wrongs  against  Fraternity.  Of  the 
three  the  best  is  no  good.)  The  little  figure  clasp- 
ing Claviere  around  the  neck  and  making  of  him 
a  centaur  a  la  fraternite  is  ingenious  to  say  the  least. 
The  date,  to  judge  by  the  political  conjuncture,  is 
October  or  November,  1792. 


For  a  while  after  the  opening  of  the  National 
Convention  the  Girondists  were  high  in  the  ascend- 
ant. The  war  that  they  had  so  strenuously 
advocated  was  succeeding  beyond  all  hope.  On 
September  20th,  the  day  before  the  opening  session 
of  the  National  Convention,  Dumouriez,  himself 
a  Girondist  in  sympathies,  had  defeated  and  turned 
back  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  at  Valmy.  We  have 
a  caricature'  showing  "The  joyous  and  triumphal 
re-entry  of  the  Prussian  Don  Quixotes  into  Ger- 
many, after  the  conquest  of  France,  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Austrian  eagle."     The  Duke  of 

'  Plate  129,  p.  303. 


W^ar 


303 


Brunswick  on  one  dejected  steed  and  the  Prussian 
King  on  another — both  with  their  faces  tailwnrds 
— are  being  addressed  by  the  double  eagle  which 
holds  the  reins:  "Let  us  fly  to  new  conquests!" 
Brunswick  with  scowling  brow  is  saying:  "How 


n-s /-KIT  .t,m:r<f  r r  Tur.'MnLLVTt  /*:.<  ;>j.v- ,^>t /■ //i>m..<  /■«:<«;•  .t» 
r.Ti:  DH  ijt  m-ivit.  Ax-^/.t  iv.vocttc  /■; 


Plate  129.      A  caricature  on  the  ^nthdrawal  of  the  Austrians  and  Prussians 
after  the  battles  of  V;Jmy  and  Genappes. 

they  do  fight,  these  dogs  of  Sans-CnlottcsV  Fred- 
erick William's  words  are  too  inelegant  to  repeat. 
The  first  vote  of  the  first  session  of  the  Conven- 
tion was  that  royalty  was  abolished  in  France." 
Hard  words  were  spoken  during  tlie  debates. 
Kings  in  general  were  monsters;  dynasties  were 
devouring  hordes;  courts  were  the  wc^rkshops  of 

'  Frjf  all  that  concerns  the  Convention  up  to  January  21,1 793,  my 
authority  has  Inx-n  the  minutes  of  the  sessions,  published  by  the  Librnirie 
Populaire — no  date. 


304 


The  French  Revolution 


crime;  the  history  of  kings  was  the  " martyrology 
of  nations."  When  the  vote  was  passed,  says  the 
Gazette  de  France,  "all  arms  remained  raised  to 
Heaven  as  if  to  thank  it  for   delivering  France 


/^//^^72r/7^ 


C^a^r-^/yy  -.'/i  t/o 


f/r^ 


V/A\j^"^ 


.  /?.  v<v._^    /,-, 


J 


Plate  130.      A  German  puzzle  showing  the  hydra  of  Revolution  devouring 
the  fleur-de-lis  and  breaking  the  crown,  sceptre,  and  sword.     There  are 
four  concealed  silhouettes. 

from  the  greatest  scourge  that  ever  afflicted  the 
earth."  The  news  was  proclaimed  in  the  public 
squares  to  the  sound  of  trumpets,  and  the  prisoners 
in  the  Temple  could  plainly  make  out  the  words 
of  the  town-criers. 

It  was  all  political  hysteria,  of  course.  France 
herself  after  trying  many  ruinous  experiments 
was  to  come  back  to  kings,  for  a  while  at  least. 
Louis  had  sinned  from  almost  any  point  of  view. 
But  were  these  Robespierres,  these  Dantons,  these 


War  305 

Marat s  so  free  from  sin  themselves?  It  was  to  be 
the  fate  of  almost  every  one  who  was  in  any  way 
prominent  in  the  Revolution  to  succumb  to  the 
rage  of  the  next  faction  in  power.  There  were 
some  who  considered  the  vote  of  the  Convention 
abohshing  royalty  not  valid ;  for  at  the  time  when 
it  was  taken  many  of  the  provincial  members  had 
not  yet  arrived,  and  only  371  out  of  a  possible  745 
were  present.  The  Parisian  deputation,  of  course, 
was  out  in  full  force.  And  they  controlled  the 
press  of  the  capital ! 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  effort  to  reconsider 
the  vote.  Instead  it  was  decreed  that  the  golden 
crown  and  sceptre  should  be  publicly  broken  in 
pieces. 

We  have  a  German  puzzle  that  seems  to  refer  to 
this  episode.'  It  is  entitled  "Four  secret  silhou- 
ettes of  extraordinary  resemblance."  Two  are 
the  King  and  Queen  of  England  and  two  are  "The 
unhappy  King  and  Queen  of  France."  The  hydra 
of  revolution  is  tearing  with  its  teeth  at  the  lily 
of  France.  With  the  folds  of  its  body  it  has  sun- 
dered the  crown  and  broken  the  sword  and  the 
sceptre.  The  silhouettes,  which  really  are  good 
likenesses,  will  be  discovered  by  the  reader  with 
the  smallest  expenditure  of  patience. 

How  the  victories  now  piled  up !  ( )n  October  2  ist 
Custine  took  Alainz ;  on  November  f)th,  Dumouriez 
defeated  the  Austrians  at  Oenappcs;  or  the  27th 
Savoy  was  annexed  as  an  eighty-fourth  departnu-nt 
of  France.     One  can  well  imagine  the  enthusiasm 

•  Plate  130,  p.  304 


3o6 


The  French  Revolution 


of  the  rulers  of  the  infant  republic.  The  president 
of  the  National  Assembly,  referring  to  the  fact  that 
Mont  Blanc  was  in  the  new  department,  declared 


Plate  131.      A  symbolical  representation  of  victory, 
traversing  the  republic. 

that  Liberty's  throne  on  the  summit  of  that 
mountain  was  the  only  throne  in  Europe  that  was 
not  tottering,  and  that  the  goddess  herself  would 
soon  be  embracing  the  whole  universe.     There  are 


War 


307 


a  number  of  artistic  productions  that  deal  with  the 
theme. 


Plate  132.     A  symbolical  representation  of  the  progress  of  Liberty,  enlighten- 
ment, and  rcpubhamism. 


In  "  \'ictory  traversing  the  repu])hc"'  the 
gfxldess  is  sprin^^'inj^  witli  ninil)le  feet  over  that 
portion  of  the  j^lobe.  We  have  another  representa- 
tion"' apparently  \vith(jut  a  title,   but  the  meaning 

•  I'latc  131,  p.  306.  '  I'late  132,    above. 


308 


The  French  Revolution 


of  which  is  plain.     Held  up  by  National  Guards,  all 
the  emblems  of  liberty — the  banners,  the  cap,  the 


,.d 


Plate  133.     A  cartoon  showing  the  progress  of  repubHcanism  and  the  inevit- 
able fate  of  each  and  all  of  the  rulers  of  Europe.     Time  is  mowing  them 
down  and  extinguishing  their  life-lights. 

cockade,  the  garland  of  oak,  the  bundle  of  staves — 
are  floating  through  space  on  what  might  be  a 
magic  carpet. 

Still  more  curious  and  very  complicated  is 
' '  The  new  French  Star  or  the  tri-coloured  Cockade 
following  the  Course  of  the  Zodiac.'"     Above  are 

'  Plate  133,  above. 


\\\ir  309 

the  twelve  signs,  below  are  twelve  sovereigns  on 
pedestals,  each  with  a  life-light  above  his  crown. 
But  Father  Time  has  already  extinguished  that  of 
Louis  XVI,  those  of  Joseph  II,  and  Leopold,  and  is 
in  the  act  of  extinguishing  that  of  Gustave  III  of 
Sweden.  The  others  will  follow  in  due  course. 
The  crown  of  Catherine  II,  who  is  represented  as 
a  most  hideous  old  hag,  is  already  falling  off. 
Louis  XVI  has  been  toppled  over  completely,  pedes- 
tal and  all.  His  severed  head  lies  on  the  ground 
with  the  crown  and  some  other  object  at  a  short 
distance.  At  the  base  of  the  overturned  pedestal 
is  the  inscription,  "Louis  the  Traitor  and  the  last." 
There  are  other  inscriptions  in  every  imaginable 
part  of  the  picture  as  well  as  underneath.  In  one, 
Father  Time  is  speaking:  "Let  me  destroy  at 
last  this  cohort  of  ambitious  ones,  these  vile  usurp- 
ers of  the  rights  of  their  fellows!"  And  again: 
"Peoples,  resume  your  rights.  Soon  there  will  be 
no  more  tyrants.  Time,  too  just,  gives  you  liberty 
and  equality."  In  the  clouds,  below  the  signs  of 
the  zodiac,  one  finds  this  "Announcement  to  future 
ages":  "Pride  formed,  reason  destroys  them." 
To  the  right,  also  among  the  clouds,  we  have: 
"The  work  of  Time,  or  Prejudice  conquered, "  and 
"Triumph  of  Philosophy  and  Reason." 

On  coins,  on  official  documents  of  every  kind, 
on  letter-heads,  we  now  find  some  emblem  of  the 
republic.  Some  show  little  imagination,  like  the 
letter-head  of  Edmond  Charles  (}en6t,  Minislcr 
Plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States  of  Anurica," 

•  ITalc  134,  p.  310. 


310 


The  French  Revolution 


or  a  medal  where  the  emblems  are  merely  the  cap 
and  the  bundle  of  staves.^  But  one  vignette, 
signed  by  way  of  exception — (it  is  by  Gatteaux) — 
is  of  real  artistic  beauty.^     It  is  the  ship  of  state 


C^^'^/i/y  €>//a7rAi(^ , aW^  ^-^^./, 


<-/      ,,'>''i'x^'V''-', 


X7' 


/ 


g-'i' 


>yrV     ''■  - '''    •''/^^■^  •  ^'^''''' <'_•' 


J   a/^^'o^r^jict 


:) 


Plate  134.     The  official  letterhead  of  Genet,  Minister  of  the  French  Republic 

to  the  United  States  of  America. 

bowling  along  with  all  banners  waving  and  Liberty 
holding  to  the  mast.  There  is  evidently  a  tem- 
pest in  progress  for  the  sails  are  tightly  furled.  But 
France  will  weather  it.  Beneath  is  the  inscription, 
"Live  free  or  die!" 

We  have  a  personification  of  republican  France 


'Plate  135,  p.  311. 


opiate  136,  p.  312. 


War 


311 


engraved  by  Darcis '  that  is  interesting.  A  female 
figure  wears  a  liberty-cap  which,  curiously  enough, 
turns  into  a  cock  at  its  extremity.     A  carpenter's 


Plate  135.     A  republican  medal. 

level  hangs  from  her  neck  while  oak-leaves  adorn 
the  border  of  her  cap.  Hoizot  and  Darcis  together 
have  given  us  similar  personifications  of  Liberty, 
Equality,  and  Fraternity."  Liberty  has  the  cap 
and  a  broken  yoke;  Ecjuality  the  inevitable  level, 

•  Plate  137,  p.  313.  '  Plates  138,  I3(,,  i4(».  pp.  ;^n,  315.  316. 


312 


The  French  Revolution 


while  Fraternity  has  the  oak-leaves  and  a  belt  of 
hearts. 

On  December  4th  the  penalty  of  death  was  de- 
creed for  any  one  who  should  even  propose  to 
re-establish  royalty  in  France.  Barere  had  gone 
so  far  as  to  declare  that  kings  were  no  longer  to  be 


,"%   hw»a»  -fggyr"" 


ti^//r//^ 


i/iV('  .  (//>/r  on  .    !((>///'//' 


</,////(■ 


Plate  136.     The  French  RepubHc  represented  as  a  ship  guided  by  Liberty. 

considered  members  of  the  human  race.  There 
were  beginning  to  be  loud  demands  for  the  judg- 
ment of  Louis  XVI. 

And  how  had  the  royal  family  fared  all  this  time 
since  the  loth  of  August?  In  the  beginning  their 
treatment  had  not  been  harsh.  Half  a  million 
francs  had  been  appropriated  for  their  maintenance 
and  the  expenses  of  their  table  alone  amounted  to 
between  eight  and  nine  thousand  francs  a  month. ' 
The  bills  for  their  wearing  apparel  between  August 


'  Cldry's  Journal,  Eclair cissements,  297  flf. 


War 


1 0th  and  October  30th  amounted  to  29,505  francs 
14  sous.  But  this  the  King  and  Queen  found 
excessive,  and  overcharges  were  detected  to  the 
amount  of  four  thousand  francs. 

The  life  in  the  Temple  lias  been  minutely  de- 


Plate  137.     A  pcrsonifKulion  of  Republican  France. 

scribed  by  the  King's  valet,  Cler\-.  Hope  had  not 
altogether  vanished,  and  faithful  servitors  even 
managed  to  find  a  way  for  keeping  up  communica- 
tion with  the  outer  world.  The  chief  intermediary 
was  one  Hue,  a  former  servitor,  and  harm- 
less looking  bits  of  paper  thrown  into  a  waste- 
paper  basket  and  removed  by  a  friendly  sweeper 
played  the  chief  part.     The  mes.sages  were  written 


314  The  French  Revolution 

in  ink  that  was  invisible  for  the  time  being. 
One  of  the  most  unhappy  days  of  Marie  An- 
toinette's life  was  probably  that  third  of  September 
when  her  beloved  Madame  de  Lamballe  perished 
with  a  great  number  of  other  victims  of  the  prison 


Plate  138.     A  personification  of  Liberty  with  the  broken  yoke. 

of  La  Force.  The  mob  insisted  that  the  captive 
Queen  should  look  on  the  bloody  corpse  of  her 
former  favourite.  The  head  with  the  hair  waving 
round  the  stake  was  brought  on  a  pike  and  paraded 
under  her  window.  Attempts  were  made  to  drag 
the  body  up  the  stairs.  Marie  Antoinette  fainted 
away. 

With    the    beginning    of    the    King's    trial    on 
December  i  ith,  even  the  consolation  of  each  other's 


War 


315 


presence  was  denied  the  unhappy  pair;  nor  was 
any  communication  allowed. 

The  trial  was  a  farce  from  first  to  last.  The 
Convention  was  not  a  Court  of  Justice.  Louis, 
indeed,  was  allowed  official  defenders,  but  was  not 


Plate  139.     A  personification  of  Equality  with  the  carpenter's  level. 

permitted  to  jjroaucc  witnesses.  An  outburst  c:»f 
Lepelletier  Sl.-Far^a'au, '  an  ardent  Mountaineer, 
is  characteristic  of  the  whole  proceedings: 

"A  dangerous  proposition  has  just  been  made:  it  is  that 
Roland  and  others  be  heard  at  the  bar.  I  am  oi)poscd  to 
this  as  I  am  to  all  proof  in  the  way  of  testimony.  For,  if 
one  admits  proof  aj^ainst,  one  would  have  to  admit  proof 

>  On  Dcf.  i.sih  {s*'f  Miniil<-    ■■'^  <'"'>nvrnli<>n). 


3i6 


The  French  Revolution 


in  favour;  and  I  must  confess  all  such  proofs  seem  to  me 
suspicious,  since  I  saw  a  man  about  to  be  condemned  to 
death  on  testimony  of  two  men  which  had  been  bought  for 
six  francs." 

Louis  was  condemned  on  the  strength  of  docu- 


Plate  140.     A  personification  of  Fraternity  with  the  belt  of 

hearts. 

ments  of  which  he  himself  denied  the  authenticity. 
He  was  ably  and  eloquently  defended  by  his 
counsel.  If  Louis  was  to  be  judged  as  king,  he 
said,  then  dethronement  was  the  only  penalty  pro- 
vided by  the  Constitution;  if  as  a  man,  then  the 
proper  and  customary  legal  forms  had  been  omitted 
— a  three  fourths  vote,  for  instance,  would  be 
necessary    for    condemnation.     Furthermore,    all 


WdT  317 

had  formed  their  own  opinions  of  the  case  irre- 
spective of  the  evidence:  "  Is  Louis,  then,  to  be  the 
only  Frenchman  for  whom  neither  law  nor  forms 
shall  exist?  Is  he  to  have  neither  the  rights  of  a 
citizen  nor  the  prerogatives  of  a  king?  Shall  he 
benefit  neither  by  his  old  nor  his  new  position? 
vStrange  and  inconceivable  destiny!" 

Wilder  scenes  had  never  been  witnessed  in  a 
National  Assembly  than  took  place  during  this 
trial.  ''This  enclosure  has  become  an  arena  of 
gladiators,"  once  cried  the  deputy  Jullien.  He 
demanded  that  the  president  go  and  hide  himself 
in  a  corner  of  the  hall — in  the  darkest  corner. 
Once  Billaud-Varennes  ordered  an  usher  to  drag 
Petion  from  the  speaker's  desk;  again  Legendre 
moved  that  Manuel  be  decreed  to  have  gone  out 
of  his  head ;  still  again  Louvet  cried  to  Danton : 
"You  are  not  yet  king!" 

The  King  still  had  friends  who  dared  to  plead 
in  his  behalf.  One  of  them  was  Thomas  Paine, 
chosen  a  member  of  the  Convention  on  account 
of  his  writings  in  the  cause  of  liberty.  Paine 
repeatedly  urged  that  Louis  XVI  be  not  put  to 
death,  but  be  sent  instead  to  the  United  States 
of  America.  It  is  well  known  that  a  number 
of  Americans  had  an  organized  plan  to  this  end. 
Paine's  argument  was  diplomatic.  Louis  would 
not  only  be  safely  out  of  harm's  way,  but  would 
have  an  opportunity  to  learn  the  meaning  of  true 
representative  government.  Paine  told,  too,  of 
the  universal  afTliction  that  the  King's  death  would 
cause  Americans  and  the  i)leasure  it  would  give 


3i8  The  French  Revolution 

"the  despot  of  England"  to  see  one  who  had  been 
the  aider  and  abettor  of  his  enemy  sent  to  the 
scaffold. 

But  the  King's  opponents  were  too  strong. 
This  was  the  one  point  on  which  the  Gironde  and 
the  Mountain  were  ever  in  accord,  though  the 
Gironde,  as  a  whole,  was  not  as  bloodthirsty  as 
the  Mountain,  and  many  members  would  gladly 
have  seen  an  appeal  to  the  people  or  at  least  a  delay 
of  execution.  The  Mountain  on  the  other  hand, 
through  the  Commune,  used  every  means  to 
inspire  horror  of  the  tyrant.  Those  who  had  been 
wounded  on  the  tenth  of  August  were  made  to 
defile  before  the  bar,  and  one  man,  whose  wounds 
were  still  gaping,  was  carried  by  on  a  litter. 

It  came  to  the  final  voting.  It  began  on  January 
15th.  The  verdict  was  almost  unanimous  that 
Louis  was  guilty.  But  the  debates  and  votes  on 
the  questions  of  appealing  to  the  people,  on  what 
penalty  should  be  imposed  on  Louis,  and  whether 
it  should  be  immediate  or  subject  to  delay,  occupied 
five  days.  The  first  reading  of  the  ballots  that 
condemned  the  King  to  death  gave  a  majority, 
in  favour,  of  only  five  votes.  A  recount  gave  a 
majority  of  fifty- three. 

Robespierre,  Couthon,  and  Barere  were  the 
strongest  advocates  of  haste.  Robespierre,  indeed, 
had  been  in  favour  of  not  holding  a  regular  trial 
over  Louis,  but  of  putting  him  to  death  at  once  as 
an  enemy  of  the  state.  "Louis  is  not  an  accused," 
he  had  said  on  December  3d, '  "you  are  no  judges. 

■  Proces-verbal. 


^\Tiitl 


'WPR  i.Ri  'JU?JMJl'"R*   vt>i  ROW 


m 


4  < 


(|ii  111)      KAjiv*      mi  pii  ■' 


i 


.»l)rouvo      i\os      Si 


lions 


At 


PlaU-  141.     A  rurtoon  cntilli-d  "  M.-ittcr  for  Rfflc-ttion  for  cnnviu-'l  Juj^gli-rs." 

Under  the  Hcvcred  hc;»«l  of  Ix>uis  XVI  is  the  line  from  the  MarseiUotse: 

"  May  un  impure  1)1«kx1  water  our  furrowsl  " 


320  The  French  Revolution 

You  are  not  and  you  cannot  be  anything  else  but 
statesmen  and  the  representatives  of  the  nation. 
.  .  .  Peoples  do  not  judge  like  law-courts;  they  do 
not  sell  their  sentences,  they  hurl  thunderbolts; 
they  do  not  condemn  kings,  they  replunge  them 
unto  nothingness.  .  .  .  Louis  must  die  that  the 
country  may  live." 

The  ballot  on  the  question  of  delay  stood  380 
against  310.  It  was  cast  on  Sunday,  January  20th, 
and  on  Monday  Louis  was  to  die.  Permission 
was  accorded  him  for  one  last  interview  with  his 
family.  The  valet  Clery  describes  it  all  minutely 
in  simple,  heart-rending  terms.  In  parting,  Louis 
kept  up  the  fiction  that  they  would  all  meet  again 
on  the  following  morning. 

There  is  no  need  to  dwell  on  that  well-known 
scene  on  the  scaffold,  which  had  been  erected  in  the 
Place  de  la  Revolution,  between  the  pedestal  of 
Louis  XV's  statue  and  the  Champs  Elysees. 
Louis  tried  to  address  the  crowd,  but  was  silenced 
by  the  roll  of  drums.  He  had  objected  to  the 
tying  of  his  hands,  but  had  been  told  by  the  ahbe 
who  accompanied  him  that  it  was  only  one  more 
insult  among  the  many  that  made  him  like  unto 
the  persecuted  Christ.  "Son  of  St.  Louis,  ascend 
to  Heaven!"  were  the  abbe's  words  as  the  axe  fell. 

Danton  in  railing  against  France's  enemies  was 
now  able  to  declare:  "We  have  thrown  them  as 
gage  of  battle  the  head  of  a  king ! ' ' 

A  cartoonist'  shows  us  the  head  held  up  by  the 
hair,  while  from  it  the  blood  is  falling  in  great 

'  Plate  141,  p.  319. 


War  321 

drops.  Above  are  the  words, ' '  Matter  for  reflection 
for  crowned  jugglers,"  while  below  is  the  line  from 
the  Marseillaise :  "May  an  impure  blood  water 
our  furrows ! ' '     An  elaborate  text  informs  us : 

On  Monday,  January  21st,  at  quarter  past  ten  in  the 
morning,  on  the  Place  de  la  Revolution  hitherto  called 
Place  Louis  XV,  the  Tyrant  fell  under  the  swords  of  the 
law.  This  grand  act  of  justice  has  thrown  consternation 
among  the  aristocracy,  annihilated  the  royal  superstition, 
and  created  the  republic.  It  impresses  a  great  character 
on  the  National  Convention  and  renders  it  worthy  of  the 
confidence  of  the  French.  It  was  in  vain  that  an  auda- 
cious faction  and  insidious  orators  exhausted  all  the  resources 
of  calumny,  of  charlatanism,  and  of  chicaner>\  The  cour- 
age of  the  republicans  triumphed ;  the  majority  of  the  Con- 
vention remained  unshakable  in  its  principles,  and  the 
Gcniusof  Intrigue  yielded  to  the  Genius  of  Liberty  and  the 
Ascendency  of  Virtue. 

These  fine  sentiments,  as  one  might  have 
recognized  by  the  style,  are  from  the  pen  of  Maxi- 
milicn  Robespierre ;  for  the  whole  text  is  an  extract 
from  one  of  his  letters  to  his  constituents. 

Relic  hunters  in  those  days  were  as  persistent  as 
in  our  own.  No  sooner  was  the  execution  over 
than  many  rushed  to  the  spot  to  secure  at  least  a 
few  drops  of  blood.  They  dipped  their  handker- 
chiefs in  it,  they  gathered  it  up  on  bits  of  paper. 
It  was  widely  as.serted  that  Samson, thecxecutioncr, 
had  sold  the  hair;  but  this  he  indignantly  denied 
in  a  letter  that  may  still  be  read  in  the  National 
Archives.' 

We  have  a  portrait  of  Louis  XVI'  that  is  cvi- 

•  Sec  alsfj  Buchez  cl  R«mx,  xxiii,  355.  '  I'lalc  142,  p.  323. 


ai 


322  The  French  Revolution 

dently  a  sort  of  "in  memoriam."  Above  is  the 
national  cockade,  but  combined  with  funeral  em- 
blems. Below  is  the  inscription,  both  in  French  and 
German:  "Louis  XVI,  last  King  of  France,  was 
born  August  23,  1754,  mounted  the  throne  May  10, 
1774,  and  the  scaffold,  January  21,  1793."  Then 
comes  a  reminiscence  of  the  song  played  by  the 
band  at  the  memorable  banquet  given  by  the 
King's  body-guards  to  the  visiting  regiment  of 
Flanders  on  October  i,  1789.  But  the  verse  is 
now  in  the  past,  just  as  a  dirge  should  be  in  a 
minor  key:  "0  my  King!  The  universe  did 
abandon  thee!" 

How  did  the  Parisians  as  a  whole  take  the 
execution  of  their  king?  Marat  speaks  in  his 
paper  of  their  "serene  joy"  when  all  was  over. 
But  the  Revolutions  de  Paris  has  to  confess  that 
"the  women  in  general  were  pretty  sad"  and  that 
"perhaps  a  few  tears  were  shed."  This,  however, 
it  considers  "pardonable  in  a  frivolous,  fragile  sex 
still  under  the  glamour  of  the  last  fine  days  of  a 
brilliant  court."  They  will  soon  recover  and  come 
to  realize  that  they  are  "less  enslaved,  more 
honoured,  and  better  loved  than  before." 

Louis  XVI  left  a  will — a  noble  and  dignified 
document,  breathing  the  highest  spirit  of  Christian 
resignation.  He  declares  before  God  that  he  is 
guiltless  of  the  crimes  charged  against  him  and 
urges  that  his  son  do  not  attempt  to  avenge  his 
death.  He  prays  God  to  pardon  him  for  ever 
having  signed  the  civil  constitution  of  the  clergy. 

To  a  small  extent,  indeed,  his  death  had  been 


_>//..  A7/ 

r^  WMPf.  »''t<»/    '/'unH'cr.-  /  'ti/',j//.), '////,/    / 
Jl(vhi->i  (Irn    Thnm    J   tr    Haif  J'";'4  i/>n/  i^^w  (riryt//  4/  2t      'im.J7y3 


(J.  rufrn     A'w/^  ''  a/fr^'    A. 


// 


/•   '        '■  -r/it/.K 


Plate  142.     A  portrait  of  Ixjuis  XVI,  t-nRnivcd  l)y  some  royalist  and  with  the 
line  underneath:  "O  my  Kinn!      Tlic  universe  did  abandon  thcc!" 

3^3 


324  The  French  Revolution 

avenged  on  the  day  of  his  own  execution.  For 
on  that  day  died  a  patriot  deputy,  Lepelletier  St.- 
Fargeau,  who  had  been  struck  down  by  a  former 
guardsman  of  the  King.  The  only  grievance  had 
been  that  St.-Fargeau  had  voted  for  Louis  XVI 's 
death. 

One  wail  went  up  from  all  the  patriots.  St.- 
Fargeau  was  solemnly  adjudged  among  the  Mar- 
tyrs of  Liberty  and  was  given  a  burial  worthy  of 
antiquity.  There  were  thirty  distinct  features  to 
the  procession:  one  included  the  carrying  of  the 
victim's  bloody  garments  on  the  end  of  a  pike, 
which  was  festooned  with  oak  and  cypress.  The 
body  was  exposed  to  view  on  the  pedestal,  in  the 
Place  des  Piques,  now  Place  Vendome,  where  had 
stood  the  statue  of  Louis  XIV.'  Lepelletier's 
bust  was  given  a  place  in  the  hall  of  the  Assembly 
next  to  that  of  Brutus.  Brutus  was  there,  of 
course,  because  he  had  killed  Cassar. 

We  have  a  pictorial  representation  which  is 
partly  a  memorial  of  Lepelletier,  partly  an  appeal 
to  arrest  his  murderer.^  It  is  headed,  "He  voted 
the  abolition  of  royalty  and  the  death  of  the 
tyrant."  That  then  was  Lepelletier's  chief  title 
to  fame.  So  zealous  was  the  search  for  the  mur- 
derer on  the  part  of  "the  committee  of  general 
security  and  surveillance,"  that  the  Palais  Royal 
gardens  were  surrounded  by  troops  and  some  six 
thousand  persons  examined.  It  was  pointed  out 
at  the  time  that  this  was  acting  as  Louis  XIV  at 
the  height  of  his  power  would  never  have  dared  to 

'  Revolutions  de  Paris,  xv.,  226.  ^  Plate  143,  p.  325. 


I 


.M'DTK  1 .  ABOT  rnON  1>V.  I. \ RO\Ar Tt  KT  I. A  MORT  I) I     i  V  i;  \  N 


4"*       \     •^." 


Plate  143.      A  mcmf.rial  to  Lcptlltticr  St.-FarKfau,c-ovcn'(l  with 

inscriptions  in  his  honcjur  un<l  pronoundnj;  the  drath  penalty 

against  anyone  who  sh«njl<l  harlMuir  his  murderer. 

3^5 


326  The  French  Revolution 

do,  nor  were  such  methods  accepted  with  equa- 
nimity. An  agent  of  the  poHce  reports  widespread 
discontent  with  the  Revolution  and  declares  that 
only  the  fear  of  the  guillotine  keeps  the  women  of 
the  market  from  shouting  "  Vive  le  roif'^  There 
were  constant  disturbances  in  which  "the  heroines 
of  liberty"  played  no  small  part.  They  would 
stand  at  the  door  of  the  Assembly  Hall  and  vilify 
the  deputies.^  "From  the  smallest  groups  to  the 
largest  assemblies,"  writes  another  police  spy  on 
June  ist,  "there  is  everywhere  the  same  spirit: 
everywhere  dissension,  everjrwhere  a  mortal  hatred. 
The  patriots  detest  each  other  more  than  ever  did 
the  aristocrats  and  plebeians."-^  The  Convention's 
own  commissioners  made  similar  reports  from  the 
provinces — that  everywhere  people  were  tired  of 
the  Revolution. 

It  was  indeed  a  critical  time  for  the  new  republic. 
Insurrections  were  breaking  out  in  Normandy, 
in  Lyons,  in  Toulon,  in  Corsica,  and  in  La  Vendee, 
in  which  latter  province  the  struggle  was  to  last 
long  and  to  be  of  unprecedented  bitterness.  And 
all  Europe  was  taking  up  the  gage  of  battle  that 
Danton  had  flung  down. 

The  revolutionary  press  and  the  revolutionary 
orators  simply  gloried  in  the  prospect.  "A  like 
zeal  inflames  us  all,"  writes  the  Revolutions  de 
Paris,  "the  Genius  of  Liberty  hovers  over  France. 
As  if  we  had  anything  to  fear  from  the  tyrants  and 
their  flocks  of  slaves!"  And  again:  "Let  Russia, 

'  See  Schmidt,  Tableaux  de  la  Revolution  Franqaise,  i.,  173. 

^  lb.,  i.,  267.  3  ib,^  i.,  376. 


War 


3^7 


England,   Sweden,   Holland,   Spain,  Sardinia,  join 
Prussia,  Austria,  and  all  Germany — well,  so  much 


/ 


f  / 


r 


^ 


/  r/////f  '// 


Plate  144.     An  alU'Korical  representation  entitled  "The  Coalition,"  ami 

showing  the  Powers  cjf  Kurope  atlaiking  the  ycuinjj  Fremli  Republic. 

She,  calm  and  sniilinj;,  will  n(jt  let  them  touch  so  muili  as  a 

hair  of  her  head. 

the  better!     The  IVenchman  needs  a  little  danger, 
then  only  is  ho  great!"     'J'lie  delusion  was  Vv\\\  up 


328  The  French  Revolution 

that  all  the  foreign  soldiers  would  desert  to  the 
French  ranks ;  it  was  declared  that  they  were  merely 
being  made  to  fight  as  bulls  are  in  the  arena:  were 
pricked  and  goaded  into  the  fray. 

England  declared  war  on  February  ist ;  on  March 
7th  hostilities  were  begun  with  Spain.  Dumouriez 
was  ordered  to  invade  Holland  and  Kellermann 
prepared  to  overrun  Italy.  "I  am  going,  under 
your  auspices" — so  he  wrote  to  the  Convention — 
' '  to  carry  back  to  the  ancient  Romans  the  liberty 
so  long  excluded  from  their  beautiful  climes."^ 
The  Revolutions  de  Paris  hopes  that  he  will  capture 
the  Pope  and  seize  all  the  church  treasure. 

Towards  the  end  of  March,  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire  formally  joined  with  France's  enemies. 
Incredible  as  it  may  sound,  that  power  was  now 
at  war  with  all  Europe  save  for  the  relatively 
unimportant  states  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  Switzer- 
land, and  Turkey.  We  have  an  allegorical  view  of 
the  situation  drawn  with  all  the  characteristic 
gaiety  of  heart  of  the  time.^  The  picture  is 
called  "The  Coalition."  The  powers  are  rending 
away  at  the  young  republic,  but  she  holds  her  own 
calmly  smiling.  They  shall  not  touch  a  hair  of  her 
head.  Their  own  faces,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
horribly  contorted  with  evil  passions. 

As  a  climax  to  the  ills,  Dumouriez,  the  most 
illustrious  general,  victor  of  Valmy  and  Genappes, 
turned  traitor  to  the  cause.  Disgusted  with  the 
whole  conduct  of  affairs  at  Paris,  he  would  gladly 
have  seen  the  restoration  of  constitutional  mon- 

'  Mortimer-Terneux,  v.,  85.  ^  Plate  144,  p.  327. 


War 


3^9 


archy  with  the  Dauphin  on  the  throne.  He  had 
uttered  fierce  diatribes  against  the  Convention, 
had  declared  that  it  consisted  of  745  tyrants,  all 
regicides,  and  that  in  it  400  imbeciles  let  themselves 
be  guided  by  300  brigands.     He  feared  that  all 


Plate  145.     A  caricature  on  the  subject  of  the  arrest  by  Dumouricz  of  the 
commissioners  sent  by  the  National  Convention  to  arrest  liim. 

Frenchmen  were  about  to  perish  "massacring  each 
other  hke  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem."  He  denounced 
the  "atrocities"  of  the  Jacobins  and  spoke  proudly 
of  himself  as  a  man  who  had  "several  times  had 
the  go(Kl  fortune  to  save  his  country,"  and  who 
would  still  save  it  in  spite  of  all. 

The  Convention  sent  commissioners  to  arrest 
this  Lucifer:  he  turned  the  tables  by  calling  in 
Austrian  hussars  to  arrest  the  commissioners.     ( )h 


330  The  French  Revolution 

how  surprised  and  enraged  they  were!  We  have 
a  caricature  entitled  "Evil  overtakes  those  who 
wish  Evil."^  The  commissioners  are  tied  up  by 
ropes  to  the  wall  and  each  is  uttering  an  appropriate 
exclamation:  *'  It  is  all  up  with  us" ;  "Not  a  hole 
to  creep  out  of";  "Damnation  take  this  traitor 
Dumouriez";  "Now  I  begin  to  have  a  little  sym- 
pathy for  these  poor  prisoners  in  the  Temple,"  and 
more  of  the  kind.  Their  expressions  of  counte- 
nance are  really  comical. 

At  Marat's  instigation,  the  Convention  set  a 
price  of  three  hundred  thousand  francs  on  the  head 
of  Dumouriez,  and  decreed  the  extraordinary 
measure  of  holding  the  fathers,  mothers,  wives  or 
children  of  all  officers  implicated  with  him  as 
hostages  for  the  imprisoned  commissioners. 

The  tide  of  invasion  rolled  on.  Why  France  was 
not  swamped  by  it  is  a  marvel  and  a  mystery.  By 
July,  1793,  no  less  than  five  foreign  armies  were 
crossing  the  French  frontiers,  and  the  English  were 
in  possession  of  the  harbour  of  Toulon. 

Yet  France,  as  we  know,  was  saved.  She  was 
saved  by  her  mad  and  imbecile  Convention  and  by 
her  atrocious  Jacobin  Club ;  by  the  ardour  of  her 
soldiers  and  the  general  patriotic  enthusiasm; 
by  a  system  of  terrorism  such  as  the  world  has 
never  seen,  but  which  kept  in  check  the  internal 
enemies. 

The  patriotic  enthusiasm  was  fostered  in  every 
way:  by  cartoons  such  as  those  we  have  been 
considering;  by  plays  that   "retraced  the  glorious 

'  Plate  145,  p.  329. 


War  331 

events  of  the  Revolution  and  the  virtues  of  the 
defenders  of  Hberty."  Brutus,  WilHam  Tell,  and 
the  Gracchi  were  frequently  seen  upon  the  stage, 
while  other  subjects  that  might  tend  to  "deprave 
public  sentiment  and  awaken  the  shameful  super- 
stition of  royalty"  were  tabooed.  The  public 
squares  and  streets  of  the  city  received  republican 
names ;  the  very  words  ville  and  village  were  thrust 
out  of  the  language  because  related  to  villeinage; 
the  coinage  had  to  be  changed,  for  of  course  there 
could  no  longer  be  loiiis  d'ors.  There  were  to  be 
instead  "republicans"  and  "gold  francs,"  which 
were  to  bear  the  inscription,  "The  people  alone  is 
sovereign."'  Children  were  to  be  given  only 
republican  names  in  baptism:  no  more  of  your 
Charles's,  Louis's,  Henrys;  of  your  Maries  and 
Elizabeths.  Victors  and  Franklins  and  Pierres 
were  to  take  their  places.  The  Due  d 'Orleans 
became  Philippe  Egalite.  We  have  names  so 
bizarre  that  they  excited  the  derision  even  of 
patriotic  newspapers:  for  instance,  "Liberty 
of  Conscience."  The  Feiiillc  Villagcoise  writes  of 
this  name:  "A  father  when  giving  his  daughter  a 
paternal  kiss,  a  comrade  in  the  joyous  games  of 
youth,  a  lover  in  the  transports  of  a  legitimate 
affection — will  they  call  her  '  Liberty  of  Con- 
science'?"  It  insists  that  the  purpose  of  a  name  is 
to  call  or  designate  some  one,  and  maintains  that 
this  dfX}S  not  fulfil  its  purjjose. 

As  a  real  concession  to  Iu[uaHty  the  old  com- 
munal lands  of  France  were  divided  up  among  the 

•  Uuvcrjjicr,  vi.,  212. 


332  The  French  Revolution 

citizens/  exception  being  made  in  the  cases  of 
mountains,  marshes,  etc.,  that  were  more  useful 
to  the  community  as  a  whole.  Old  obligations, 
like  that  which  compelled  the  town  of  Schoeffers- 
heim  to  maintain  an  ever-burning  lamp  for  the 
repose  of  the  soul  of  its  old  Seigneur,  were  declared 
null  and  void.  The  lamp  had  been  burning  for 
four  hundred  years,  but  it  now  went  out.^ 

Zealous  converts  were  won  for  the  Revolution 
by  playing  fast  and  loose  with  all  the  old-established 
rights  of  property.  Illegitimate  children,  being 
' '  the  elders  of  the  human  race  and  the  founders  of 
all  society,"  were  to  inherit  equally  with  legitimate; 
mothers  and  fathers  who,  on  account  of  the  size  of 
their  families  could  not  make  both  ends  meet,  were 
to  be  given  national  aid.^  Those  about  to  be- 
come mothers  might  demand  this  aid  beforehand 
and — Oh  shades  of  Rousseau! — -will  get  a  layette 
worth  eighteen  francs  in  addition  if  they  promise 
to  nurse  their  babies  themselves.  Foundlings  are 
to  be  the  special  care  of  the  nation  but,  lest  their 
feelings  should  be  hurt,  they  are  never  to  be  called 
anything  but  "orphans." 

Revenue  for  all  this  was  to  be  obtained  by  taxing 
the  ''superfluity"  of  the  rich;  and  the  actual  need 
of  the  father  of  a  family  was  placed  at  1500  francs 
a  year.  All  else  was  superfluity.  To  have  a  larger 
income  than  30,000  francs  a  year  was  prohibited. 
Thus,  if  one's  income  happened  to  be  50,000  francs 
the  tax  would  amount  to  at  least  20,000  francs."^ 

'  Duvergier,  v.,  325  (Decree  of  June  10,  1793).  ^  lb.,  v.,  347. 

3  lb.,  v.,  362.  4  Buchez  et  Roux,  xxvi.,  399. 


War  333 

There  were  times  when  even  such  taxation  as  this 
did  not  produce  sufficient  revenue;  but  in  one  case, 
at  least,  we  have  this  laconic  decree:  "  There  shall 
be  a  forced  loan  of  one  billion  on  all  rich  citizens. "' 

In  the  course  of  the  debate  on  this  latter  measure 
Cambon  remarked:  "It  is  only  just  that  those  who 
never  served  Liberty  with  their  arms  should  serve 
it  with  their  fortunes."  Such  sentiments  were 
becoming  very  popular,  and  we  are  told  that  the 
passing  of  the  decree  summarily  borrowing  a 
billion  francs  was  greeted  with  great  applause  on 
the  part  of  the  citizens  in  the  gallery.^ 

These  were  drastic  measures  of  course,  but  like 
all  the  terrorism  and  all  the  artificial  inspiring  of 
patriotism  they  helped  towards  the  final  result. 
That  there  was  another  way  of  producing  that 
result — namely,  ceasing  from  the  belligerent  atti- 
tude towards  the  other  powers,  many  of  which  were 
very  much  averse  to  the  war — does  not  seem  to  have 
entered  any  patriotic  head. 

The  Cominune  of  Paris,  as  was  to  be  expected, 
went  much  farther  even  than  the  National  Con- 
vention in  catering  to  the  proletariat.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1793,  it  decreed  that  riches  and  poverty  were 
alike  abfjlished;  to  be  idle  and  to  beg  were  alike 
forbidden.  The  sick,  the  indigent,  the  old,  and 
the  orphans  were  to  be  lodged,  nourished,  and 
clothed  at  the  expense  of  their  neighbours; 
bakers  must  bake  only  one  kind  of  l)read,  the 
"bread  of  equality."'     In  DecemlnT  Danton  pro- 

'  Buchez  ct  Roux,  xxvii.,  150.      '  Dfhnts  et  Ihrn-ts,  M.iy  20,  179.^ 
*  For  iheso  njcisiires  nf  the  (■oiniiiuinj  sec  Monitrur,  Nov.  2(>,  I7<>.v 


334  The  French  Revolution 

cured  a  vote  in  the  Convention  confiscating  the 
property  of  those  who  had  sons  among  the  emigres 
unless  they  could  prove  that  they  were  ardent 
patriots.  Already  decrees  had  been  issued  forbid- 
ding any  rich  persons  to  hide  their  gold,  silver,  or 
jewels.  Those  who  gave  information  of  such  con- 
cealment were  entitled  to  five  per  cent,  of  the  value. ^ 

Such,  then,  was  the  spirit  of  legislation  during 
these  anxious  days.  The  same  spirit  reigned  in 
the  armies  and  helped  to  make  them  effective. 
The  Convention  kept  a  tight  rein  by  means  of  its 
representatives-on-mission,  an  institution  old  as 
the  days  of  Charlemagne  who  was  wont  to  send 
out  his  missi  dominici,  two  by  two,  to  control  and 
supervise  all  the  local  authorities. 

The  authority  of  these  emissaries  of  the  Conven- 
tion was  practically  unlimited.  Life  and  death 
were  in  their  hands,  and  it  is  well  known  how  Carrier 
in  Nantes  was  able  to  invent  and  carry  out  a 
method  of  disposing  of  his  prisoners  in  batches 
by  sending  them  out  on  the  Loire  in  scows  that 
were  then  scuttled. 

St. -Just  and  Le  Bas,^  on  mission  to  the  army, 
once  called  for  a  loan  of  nine  millions  to  be  paid 
by  the  rich  citizens  of  Strassburg  within  twenty- 
four  hours.  Similar  peremptory  orders  brought 
in  ten  thousand  pairs  of  shoes,  one  thousand  beds, 
and  every  cloak  belonging  to  a  civilian.  The 
representatives  could  summarily  remove  even  the 
most  renowned  of  the  generals. 

^  Moniteur,  Nov.  14,  1793. 

'  Buchezet  Roux,  vol.  xxvii.,  passim,  has  accounts  of  such  confiscations. 


War  335 

Over  the  heads  of  all,  now,  floated  the  dread  of 
the  Revolutionary  Tribunal.  It  was  no  longer  the 
comparatively  gentle  institution  that  had  been 
established  on  August  17,  1792.  It  had  been  re- 
organized on  March  9,  1793,  after  Danton  had 
cried:  "Let  us  be  terrible  to  spare  the  people 
from  so  being.  .  .  .  Let  us  drink,  if  we  must,  the 
blood  of  humanity's  enemies!'"  The  first  official 
bulletin  of  the  tribimal*  announced  that  "it  has 
been  found  needful  once  more  to  swing  the 
avenging  axe  ...  to  destroy  the  ferocious  beast 
that  nothing  could  tame."  The  Cordelier  Club, 
which  Danton  had  founded,  voted  to  "veil  for  a 
time  the  rights  of  man."  The  chief  function  of  the 
tribunal  was  to  be  the  inquiring  into  plots.  It  was 
to  deal  especially  with  such  persons  as  "by  their 
conduct  or  the  manifestation  of  opinions  should 
have  tried  to  lead  the  people  astray."  Those  who 
had  held  any  office  or  position  under  the  old  regime 
were  especially  recommended  to  its  supervision.-' 

No  wonder  that  Vergniaud  cried  out  against 
"this  inquisition  a  thousand  times  more  formid- 
able than  that  of  Venice,"  and  declared  tliat  he 
would  die  rather  tlian  consent  to  its  establishment. 
Cambon  was  prophetic  when  he  feared  that  the 
Convention  itself  might  fall  a  victim  to  the  tribunal. 

In  its  first  public  prosecutor,  Fouquier-Tinville, 
the  extremists  found  a  man  after  their  own  heart.-' 
A  more  cruel,  more  ferocious  man  never  existed. 

•  Wallon,  i..  51  fl.  '  Hiichcz  ct  Roux,  xxv.,  305. 

»  lb..  XXV.,  \H  fT. 

«  I )oincnt{ct .  Fonqmrr-Tinvtllr  ft  Ir  Trthuiinl  NiTolutt  itituiin-. 


336  The  French  Revolution 

He  had  advocated  bleeding  the  condemned  that 
they  might  give  the  executioner  less  trouble. 

On  April  6,  1793,  was  established  another  insti- 
tution that  was  to  be  most  closely  allied  to  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal — the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety.'  It  might  arrest  whom  it  pleased,  might 
issue  edicts,  and  was  not  to  be  asked  to  account 
for  its  expenditures.  Even  Marat  announced  that 
this  was  setting  up  a  new  tyrant,  but  declared 
that  it  was  necessary  in  order  to  crush  the  despot- 
ism of  kings.  Among  its  members  when  at  the 
height  of  its  influence — after  July,  1793 — were 
Robespierre,  Couthon,  St. -Just  and  Billaud-Va- 
rennes.  By  that  time  the  whole  government  was 
in  its  hands.  It  gave  its  orders  to  the  civil  and 
military  ofhcials,  instructed  the  representatives 
on  mission,  and  negotiated  with  foreign  powers. 
It  had  under  it  the  local  committees  of  surveillance 
all  over  France.  To  these  committees  it  once 
addressed  the  following  circular: 

The  activity  originating  in  the  bosom  of  the  Convention 
culminates  in  you.  You  are,  so  to  speak,  the  hands  of  the 
body  poHtic  of  which  the  Convention  is  the  head  and  we 
are  the  eyes.  It  is  through  you  that  the  national  will, 
once  formulated,  strikes.  You  are  the  levers  by  which  it 
crushes  resistance.  You,  then,  are  like  those  formidable 
engines  of  war  which  are  placed  in  front  by  the  general  and 
merely  await  the  electric  spark  before  launching  terror 
and  death.  ^ 

The  Committee  of  Public  Safety  used  its  eyes 

'  J.  Gros,  Le  Comite  de  Salut  Public,  Paris,  1893. 
'  Aulard,  Hist.  Pol.,  353. 


War  337 

well  with  regard  to  these  local  committees  and 
frequently  "purified"  them:  that  is,  expelled  those 
members  who  gave  it  grounds  for  disapproval. 

One  sees  here  in  France,  throughout  1793  and 
1794,  a  marvellous  network  of  supervision  not 
unlike  that  commonly  attributed  to  the  great 
Jesuit  Order  in  the  1 6th  and  1 7th  centuries.  These 
people  really  seem  to  have  believed  that  they  could 
keep  track  of  the  political  opinions  of  every  man 
in  France.  The  Convention  was  made  to  decree 
that  even  its  own  members  were  not  inviolable* 
and  that  on  the  exterior  of  every  house  in  France 
must  be  placed  the  names,  forenames,  surnames, 
ages,  and  professions  of  those  inhabiting  it.  Cards 
of  civism  were  to  be  required  of  every  person  and 
those  who  could  not  produce  them  were  to  be 
placed  under  arrest.-  Domiciliary  visits  were 
made  in  search  of  suspected  persons,  and  even  the 
galleries  of  the  National  Convention  were  passed 
in    review. 

To  this  it  had  come  in  the  land  of  Liberty, 
Equality,  and  Fraternity! 

'  Moniteur,  April  i,  I7<J3.  '  Buchez  et  Roux,  xxv.,  150-155. 


M 


CHAPTER  X 


PROSCRIPTION 


HOT  as  had  been  the  passions  during  the 
struggle  against  royalty  they  were  as  nothing 
compared  to  those  which  party  strife  now 
engendered.'  There  had  been  some  excuse  for  de- 
posing the  King;  he  had  broken  his  promises,  vio- 
lated his  oaths.  There  was  not  the  shadow  of  such 
an  excuse  for  the  treatment  of  the  Gironde  by  the 
Mountain.  It  was  simply  a  case  of  one  faction 
saying  to  another:  "If  you  do  not  vote  as  we 
please  we  will  coerce  you  into  doing  so,  or  force  you 
out  of  the  Assembly."  There  was  the  pretence,  of 
course,  that  the  good  of  the  state  demanded  such 
action,  but  woe  to  the  state  where  there  is  no  check 
on  arbitrariness. 

From  the  first  this  arbitrariness  was  the  real 
question  at  issue.  The  Parisian  delegation,  headed 
by  Danton,  Robespierre,  and  Marat,  was  bound  to 
have  its  way.  When  accused  of  wishing  to  exercise 
despotic  power,  the  Mountain  retaliated  by  a 
charge  that  the  Gironde  was  trying  to  decentralize 
France,  to  cut  it  up  into  separate  states  like  the 
United  States  of  America.     Between  dictatorship 

^  Mortimer-Terneux  has  the  best  account  of  this  whole  struggle. 

338 


Proscription  339 

and  federalism:  there  lay  the  real  conflict.  It  was 
no  fair  struggle.  The  Gironde  had  the  majority, 
as  we  have  seen.  But  the  Mountain  had  combat- 
iveness,  ruthlessness,  and  good  organization.  It 
could  rely,  too,  on  insurrection  in  Paris;  it  could, 
and  did,  pack  the  galleries  of  the  Convention  with 
its  adherents. 

There  had  been  clashes  in  the  very  first  sessions. 
The  Gironde  wished  an  inquiry  into  the  whole 
subject  of  the  September  massacres.  This  the 
Mountain  opposed — not  unnaturally,  seeing  that 
some  of  its  leading  members  had  personally  been 
concerned  in  the  matter.  The  general  tone  was  so 
autocratic  that  Buzot  asked  if,  then  they  were  all 
slaves  to  certain  members  from  Paris. 

The  Gironde  finally  brought  forward  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  Convention  have  its  own  body- 
guard, to  be  recruited  in  equal  measure  from  all 
of  the  eighty-three  departments.  It  was  a  fair 
proposition  but  was  frantically  resented  by  the 
Mountain.  There  had  been  no  attempt  to  conceal 
the  fact  that  the  measure  was  directed  against 
Paris.  Lasource  had  openly  declared  in  debate 
that  "Paris  must  be  reduced  to  one  eighty- 
third  of  influence."  Marat  and  Robespierre  had 
been  denounced  by  name.  Marat,  in  his  defence, 
made  a  theatrical  coup.  vSuddt'uly  pointing  a  pistol 
to  his  brow,  he  declared  that,  had  he  been  con- 
demned unheard,  he  would  have  blown  out  his 
brains  at  the  foot  of  the  Speaker's  desk.  "Pro- 
found   sensation!"    say    the   minutes,'    which,    of 

'  Profis-vrrbdl,  S«-|jI.  25,  1792. 


340  The  French  Revolution 

course,  was  what  Marat  desired.  He  more  than 
any  other  man  was  to  be  responsible  in  the  next 
few  months  for  keeping  excitement  at  fever  pitch. 
His  newspaper,  the  Ami  du  Peuple,  was  one  long 
shriek  of  denunciation. 

Among  the  grievances  of  the  Girondists  were: 
that  Paris  was  unduly  favoured  by  legislation; 
that  the  taxes  from  the  provinces  went  to  further 
her  special  interests;  that  army  supplies  were 
ordered  exclusively  from  her  merchants.  And 
what  had  she  done  to  deserve  all  this?  She  had 
permitted  the  September  massacres!  That  was 
the  taunt  that  ever  recurred.  The  investigation 
hung  over  the  head  of  the  Mountain  like  the  sword 
of  Damocles.     It  was  staved  off  as  long  as  possible. 

The  violence  of  some  of  the  scenes  in  the  Conven- 
tion when  such  matters  were  being  discussed  fairly 
beggars  description.  Accusations  were  bandied 
to  and  fro.  Bazire  once  even  tried  to  prove  that 
the  aristocrats  had  instigated  the  massacres  in 
order  to  throw  the  odium  on  the  Commune.^ 
The  Girondists  were  charged  with  wishing  to  have 
a  Pretorian  guard  at  their  disposal. 

The  personal  attacks  were  virulent.  Marat's 
very  name  made  him  shiver  with  horror,  declared 
Boileau;  and  he  demanded  that  the  desk  where 
Marat  had  just  spoken  should  be  disinfected! 
Louvet  likened  Robespierre  to  "all  the  usurpers 
from  Caesar  to  Cromwell,  from  Sulla  to  Masa- 
niello, "  and,  indeed,  uttered  such  a  tirade  against 
him,  that  the  great  leader  for  a  moment  was  nearly 

^Proces-verbal,  Nov.  6,  1792. 


Proscription  341 

crushed.  When  Louvet  had  ceased  speaking, 
Cambon  shook  his  fist  in  the  direction  of  the 
Mountain  and  cried:  "  Wretches,  that  is  the  death- 
sentence  of  dictators!"  But  Robespierre  had 
asked  for  delay  to  prepare  his  reply  and  then  had 
come  forth  triumphant  from  the  ordeal.  I  I'e  even 
dared  to  defend  the  massacres  as  a  necessary 
measure  of  safety;  and  that  was  the  theory  now 
boldly  adopted  by  his  party:  "It  cannot  be  dis- 
guised," cried  Collot-d'Hcrbois  in  the  Jacobin 
Club,  "that  the  terrible  affair  of  September  2d 
is  the  main  article  of  our  creed  of  liberty!"  His 
theory  was  that  but  for  the  massacres  the  Revo- 
lution would  never  have  been  accomplished. 

Gensonne  reviled  the  men  of  the  Mountain  as 
"sycophants"  and  "demagogues";  as  "charlatans 
of  patriotism  and  false  adorers  of  liberty";  as 
"shriekers"  who  pretended  to  have  saved  the 
state  and  who  had  played  no  greater  part  in  the 
matter  than  the  geese  in  the  capitol  when  they 
saved  ancient  Rome.  Robespierre  was  once  lik- 
ened to  the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  of  crusading 
times,  whose  hired  band  gave  to  the  world  the  name 
and  conception  of  Assassins.  Ciuadet  likened 
Marat  to  a  croaking  toad,  and  Marat  promptly 
responded  with  "Shut  up,  vile  l)ird!" 

Marat  accused  the  Girondists  of  being  accom- 
plices (){  the  traitor  Dumouriez.  1  Ic  meant  to  force 
them  from  their  last  intrenchments,  he  wrote,  and 
make  them  declare  themselves  royalists.  He  him- 
self had  been  decreed  under  arrest  and  haled  belt  )R' 
theRevolutionaryTribunal.   Hut  the  judgeswere  all 


342  The  French  Revolution 

adherents  of  the  Commune  and  Marat  was  escorted 
back  to  his  seat  in  the  Convention  garlanded  with 
laurels.  The  idea  had  already  taken  form  with  him 
that  a  nimiber  of  the  Girondists  must  be  expelled. 
He  wrote  a  proud  letter  during  his  arrest:  "Before 
belonging  to  the  Convention  I  belonged  to  the  father- 
land; I  am  at  the  service  of  the  people,  of  whom  I 
am  the  eyes.  ...  I  do  not  wish  the  Assembly  dis- 
solved: I  demand  that  it  be  purged  of  the  traitors 
who  seek  to  destroy  the  nation  by  restoring  despot- 
ism." Traitors,  thieves,  conspirators,  are  his  ever- 
recurring  appellations  for  the  Girondists. 

The  Girondists  were  stung  and  goaded  into  fury. 
The  deliberations  in  the  Convention  were  no  longer 
free.  Isnard,  one  of  the  chief  orators,  was  led  into 
using  language  that  was  to  serve  as  a  millstone 
around  his  own  neck:  "If  the  national  representa- 
tives are  molested,  I  declare  in  the  name  of  all 
France  that  Paris  shall  fall  and  men  shall  be  search- 
ing the  banks  of  the  Seine  to  see  if  it  ever  existed ! " 
Searching  the  banks  of  the  Seine!  The  utterance, 
to  these  blind  fanatics,  was  criminal.  It  betrayed 
the  existence  of  a  plot  to  overthrow  Paris.  It  was 
full  evidence  of  a  conspiracy ! 

The  next  development  in  the  quarrel  was  that  a 
deputation  from  the  Commune  formally  demanded 
the  expulsion  of  twenty-two  Girondist  deputies 
as  "guilty  of  the  crime  of  felony  against  the 
sovereign  people."  Guadet  asked  in  this  con- 
nection if  the  Convention  was  the  highest  power 
in  the  land  or  if  there  was  one  above  it.  There 
was  one  above  it  and  that  was  the  Commune  of 


Proscriptii)n  343 

Paris.  This  body  began  corresponding  with  other 
communes  now,  with  regard  to  this  matter  of  the 
expulsion.  Its  own  deputations  assume  an  ever 
lordher  tone.  It  wishes  more  money  taken  from 
the  rich  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor;  it  proposes 
measures  for  the  salvation  of  the  republic:  "If 
you  do  not  adopt  them,  we  who  do  intend  to  save 
it  shall  declare  ourselves  in  a  state  of  insurrection!" 

On  May  loth  the  Convention  moved  to  the  Tui- 
leries  palace  where  a  hall  had  been  prepared 
for  it.  The  "sovereign"  had  come  into  its  own 
and  manifested  its  power  by  acts  of  great  oppres- 
sion. In  other  words,  the  adherents  of  the  Mount- 
ain forcibly  kept  from  the  galleries  the  adherents 
of  the  Gironde.  It  even  seemed  as  though  the 
Commune  were  meditating  new  massacres.  Gua- 
det,  the  Girondist,  moved  that  the  wound  be 
probed  to  the  bottom  and  the  whole  Municipal 
Council  cashiered.  His  motion  was  not  carried, 
but  the  Gironde  obtained  the  appointing  of  a  com- 
mittee to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  the  Communal 
Council  as  well  as  of  the  sections  of  Paris.  This 
Committee  of  Twelve  was  as  hateful  to  the  Mount- 
ain as  had  been  the  contemplated  guard  from  the 
departments,  and  the  climax  was  reached  when  the 
demagogue  Hebert,  editcjr  of  the  Pl'rc  DucJihic, 
was  declared  under  arrest. 

The   members  of  the    Mountain   knew   all   the 
ru.ses  in  parliamentary  tactics  much  better  than 
did  their  opponents.     At  dead  of  night  they  unex- 
pectedly called  a  vote  disbanding  the  Committee 
of   Twelve   and   ordering    the   release   of    Htbert. 


344  The  French  Revolution 

The  next  day,  of  course,  the  vote  was  rescinded, 
but  Hebert  was  at  Hberty. 

With  the  arrival  of  bad  news  from  the  frontier 
on  May  29th,  Paris  fell  into  one  of  its  period- 
ical fits  of  frenzy.  The  Communal  Council  de- 
clared itself  in  permanence,  and  announced  that 
it  would  save  the  republic.  On  May  31st  it  gave 
the  signal  for  an  attack  on  the  "aristocratic 
factions" — in  other  words  on  the  Girondist  mem- 
bers of  the  National  Convention!  Marat  had 
been  foremost  in  bringing  things  to  this  pass. 
How  he  had  railed  at  those  who  had  tried  "to 
crush  the  Mountain,  bulwark  of  Liberty ! ' '  He  had 
urged  the  people  to  take  up  arms  and  not  lay  them 
down  until  the  Convention  should  have  been 
"purified."  Purification  was  the  technical  term 
in  the  Jacobin  Club  for  removing  those  whose 
opinions  were  not  orthodox.  When  insurrection 
was  finally  proclaimed,  Marat  himself  climbed  the 
tower  of  Notre  Dame  and  sounded  the  tocsin  with 
his  own  hand.  The  Communal  forces  were  re- 
cruited by  paying  those  willing  to  join  in  the 
enterprise.  Hanriot,  one  of  the  workers  in  blood 
during  the  September  massacres,  was  made 
Commander  of  the  National  Guards. 

All  was  ready  now  for  one  of  the  greatest  blows 
at  liberty  that  ever  Frenchmen  had  struck.  The 
Commune  sent  its  commands  to  the  National 
Convention:  the  Committee  of  Twelve  as  well  as 
twenty-two  other  Girondists  were  to  be  arrested 
and  brought  to  trial.  Among  the  sins  of  the 
members  it  proscribed,  the  Commune  mentioned^ 


Proscription  345 

particularly,  Isnard's  speech  about  searching  the 
banks  of  the  Seine  to  see  if  Paris  ever  existed. 
Was  not  such  a  speech  in  itself  proof  positive  of  a 
conspiracy  to  destroy  Paris? 

The  Commune  sent  forces  to  surround  ex-  Minister 
Roland's  house,  but  Roland  had  already  been  spir- 
ited away.  Madame  Roland,  however,  was  taken 
and  carried  off  to  prison.  We  have  her  energetic 
protest  to  the  Convention,  but  it  was  of  no  avail. 

The  31st  of  May  ended  with  a  strange  sort  of 
reconciliation,  and  Girondists  and  Mountaineers 
embraced,  sang,  danced,  and  generally  revelled 
until  dawn.  The  next  day  a  revised  list  was 
handed  in  with  the  peremptory  demand  that  "all 
these  traitors  be  made  to  bite  the  dust."  The 
grand  climax  was  reserved  for  the  2d  of  June. 

The  attitude  of  the  Convention  in  general  re- 
minds one  of  that  of  the  Legislative  Assembly 
when  it  was  a  question  of  protecting  Louis  XVL 
The  Mountain  had  no  esprit  de  corps  as  far  as  the 
other  members  were  concerned;  its  orators  taunted 
and  goaded  the  Girondists  in  every  way.  It  was 
proposed  that  for  the  sake  of  peace  the  denounced 
members  voluntarily  suspend  themselves;  but 
Marat  cried  out  against  this,  declaring  that  "one 
mu.st  be  pure  to  offer  sacrifices  to  one's  country!" 

In  answer  to  the  taunts,  the  (lirondist  orators 
unfolded  a  very  lofty  eUxjuence.  Barbaroux 
chided  his  opp(jnents.  He  had  seen  victims  lid 
to  the  altar,  he  said,  garlanded  with  flowers  and 
decked  with  ribbons,  but  the  priest  who  offered 
them  in  sacrifice  had  not  insulted  tluin.      Lanjui- 


346  The  French  Revolution 

nais  unfolded  a  prophetic  vision  of  the  horrible 
monster  of  dictatorship  advancing  over  heaps  of 
ruins  and  piles  of  corpses,  swallowing  the  deputies 
one  by  one  and  overthrowing  the  republic. 
These  were  swan  songs:  the  last  efforts  of  great 
orators. 

For  Hanriot  was  closing  in  around  the  Tuileries 
with  the  hired  assassins  of  the  Commune.  What 
a  message  to  send  to  one's  legislators!  If  the 
inculpated  members  were  not  handed  over  within 
one  hour,  he,  Hanriot,  would  have  the  president  of 
the  National  Convention  dragged  out  and  shot ! 

The  Convention  determined  to  march  out  of 
its  hall  and  see  if  none  among  these  National 
Guards  would  rally  to  its  aid.  Barere  had  declared 
that  slaves  could  no  longer  make  laws.  Stranger 
procession  never  was!  Individual  deputies  were 
seized  by  the  tricoteuses  who  rushed  down  from 
the  galleries  and  tried  to  hold  them  back.  Shouts 
of  "Long  live  the  Mountain!"  filled  the  air. 
Marat,  too,  was  loudly  cheered.  At  sight  of  the 
members,  Hanriot  bade  his  cannoneers  stand  to 
their  guns. 

The  procession  held  together  and  crossed  the 
garden.  But  all  attempts  to  pass  out  by  the  Pont 
Tournant  were  in  vain.  The  line  broke.  The 
deputies  slunk  back  to  their  hall  much  as  Louis  XVI 
and  his  family  had  done  after  the  refusal  of  the 
crowd  to  let  them  drive  to  St.  Cloud  in  April,  1791. 
The  Mountain  was  victorious.  The  members 
once  more  took  their  seats.  Couthon  moved  the 
arrest  of  the  twelve,  of  the  twenty-two,  and  of  the 


Proscription  347 

Ministers  Cla\'iere  and  Lcbrun.  His  prefatory 
remark  makes  one  wonder  ii'  he  was  sarcastic: 
"Now  that  you  are  free  to  dehberate  .  .  .!"  It 
was  a  strange  kind  of  freedom!  And  after  Marat 
had  personally  revised  the  lists,  and  thirty-one 
Girondists,  including  all  the  greatest  orators,  had 
been  taken  into  custody,  the  Commune  sent  and 
thanked  the  Convention  for  its  patriotic  conduct 
and  congratulated  it  on  having  voted  without 
coercion ! 

How  did  France  take  the  news  of  this  treatment 
of  its  elected  deputies?  There  was  a  bright  flare 
of  rebellion  in  almost  ever>^  department.  The 
town  of  Lyons  raised  twenty  thousand  men  and 
declared  the  whole  Mountain  in  the  ban.  Armies 
mustered  in  Calvados  and  elsewhere.  Moreover, 
in  the  Convention,  seventy-five  members  found 
courage  to  sign  an  energetic  protest.  Of  the 
arrested  members  themselves,  a  number  escaped, 
rallied  at  Caen  in  Normandy,  and  prepared  for 
civil    war. 

But  just  as  the  Commune  had  controlled  public 
opinion  in  the  case  of  the  storming  of  the  Tuileries 
and  the  September  massacres,  so  now  it  spread 
its  own  version  of  this  aflair  through  the  press  and 
through  the  post-office.  The  people  should  know 
the  truth  ab(jut  these  insurgents:  they  were 
counter-rcv(ilutionists — ^in  league  with  royalists! 
The  Mountain  was  soon  able  to  pit  army  against 
army,  and  on  July  13th,  a  day  otherwise  memorable, 
the  opposing  forces  met  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the    X(jrman    tcnvn   of   Vernon.     The   enctjunter. 


348  The  French  Revolution 

indeed,  was  nearer  to  the  ridiculous  than  to  the 
subhme.  One  man  only  was  killed  and  both  sides 
ran  away! 

Yet  the  combat  sealed  the  fate  of  the  Girondists. 
They  had  staked  all  and  their  opponents  were 
hourly  gaining  ground.  They  were  abandoned  by 
the  town  of  Caen,  and  on  the  door  of  the  room  that 
had  served  as  their  place  of  assembly  a  placard 
announced  that  they  were  outlaws.  The  Conven- 
tion itself  declared  them  traitors  to  their  country. 
Petion,  once  the  idol  of  Paris;  Buzot,  the  man 
whom  Madame  Roland  loved  more  than  she  did 
her  husband;  Lou  vet,  the  popular  author;  Bar- 
baroux,  and  others,  started  off,  disguised  as  soldiers, 
to  reach  the  sea  and  take  ship  for  their  own  beloved 
province  where  they  expected  to  be  welcomed 
with  open  arms.  After  incredible  hardships  they 
reached  Bordeaux  only  to  find  that  here,  too, 
the  insurrection  had  been  quelled.  Then  began 
the  awful  flight,  the  tracking  like  wild  beasts,  the 
hiding  in  caves,  cellars,  and  deserted  quarries:  all  of 
which  Louvet  has  so  graphically  described  in  his 
memoirs. 

We  have  said  that  the  day  of  the  encounter  at 
Vernon  was  otherwise  memorable.  On  that  day 
Charlotte  Corday  avenged  the  expulsion  of  the 
Girondists  from  the  Convention  by  stabbing  to 
the  heart  their  worst  enemy,  Marat.  The  inspira- 
tion to  the  deed— she  had  acted  entirely  of  her  own 
initiative — ^had  come  from  consorting  with  the 
fugitive  deputies  at  Caen.  "What  finally  decided 
me,"  she  wrote  to  Barbarotix,  "was  the  courage 


Proscription  349 

\vith  which  our  volunteers  enrolled  on  July  7th." 
She  had  been  present  when  the  forces  mustered. 

Charlotte  Corday,  however,  was  far  from  having 
acted  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  She  had  been 
a  close  student  of  Revolutionary  affairs.  She  de- 
clared at  her  trial  that  she  had  read  over  five 
hundred  pamphlets  dealing  with  the  subject. 
One  of  her  special  admirations  in  history  was  the 
mother  of  the  Gracchi.  Just  before  the  bloody 
deed,  of  which  there  is  no  need  to  recount  the  well- 
known  details,  she  wTOte  a  letter  to  "law-abiding 
and  peace-loving  Frenchmen,"  in  which  she 
bitterly  arraigned  the  Mountain  and  justified  her 
intended  act.  She  called  IMarat  an  odious  monster, 
a  "wild  beast  fattening  on  human  blood."  "He 
told  me  that  in  a  few  days  he  would  have  you  all 
guillotined  in  Paris,"  she  wrote  to  Barbaroux; 
"these  last  words  sealed  his  fate." 

Like  the  Tragic  IMuse  in  person  she  had  risen 
above  all  the  little  sordid  details  of  her  hard  task. 
Twice,  if  not  three  times,  she  had  gone  to  Marat's 
house  with  the  great  knife  concealed  in  the  folds 
of  her  dress.  Like  the  Tragic  Muse,  too — so 
indifferent  to  her  own  fate  that  even  her  worst 
enemies  mar\^elled — she  went  to  her  execution  in 
the  scarlet  robe  of  a  murderess.  Her  one  request 
was  not  for  any  alleviation  of  her  lot  but  for 
permission  to  hand  down  her  features  to  posterity. 
She  wrote  to  the  Ccmimittee  of  Public  Safety: 
"As  I  still  have  a  few  minutes  to  live,  may  I  hope, 
Citizens,  U)T  jK-rmission  to  have  my  portrait 
painted?" 


350  The  French  Revolution 

We  have  a  portrait, '  generally  recognized  as  the 
most  authentic,  which  was  painted  by  Hauer. 
He  was  present  at  her  trial  and  is  said  to  have 
been  allowed  to  visit  her  in  her  cell. 

Of  Marat  in  the  act  of  being  stabbed  and  of 
Marat  dead  there  were  numerous  representations. 
His  crooked,  leering  face  was  easy  to  reproduce. 
Louis  David,  the  artist,  painted  a  famous  picture 
of  the  scene,  and  we  have  an  engraving  by  Verite 
for  which  the  plaster  cast  of  Marat's  features 
served  as  model. ^  The  gaping  wound  is  there, 
with  the  blood  oozing  from  it,  and  the  demagogue 
is  quoted  as  saying:  "Unable  to  corrupt,  they  have 
assassinated  me!" 

There  was  a  sudden  wave  of  Marat  worship. 
He  was  likened  to  Christ.  On  the  temporary  tomb^ 
in  which  he  was  laid  until  he  could  be  transferred  to 
the  Pantheon  was  placed  the  inscription:  "From 
the  depths  of  his  black  cave  he  made  traitors 
tremble.  A  perfidious  hand  snatched  him  away 
from  the  love  of  his  people."  The  representation 
of  the  tomb  is  headed:  "To  the  immortal  glory  of 
Marat,  the  people's  friend." 

But  Marat's  death  was  not  looked  upon  as  a 
closed  episode.  There  lay  the  chief  tragedy. 
Charlotte  Corday's  act  had  been  more  than  in 
vain  for  Marat  became  a  martyr. 

Over  the  door  of  the  house  where  Marat  had 
lived  was  placed  this  line:  "Weep,  but  remember 
that  he  must  be  avenged!"  Everything  was  done 
to  inflame  passions  that  were  already  at  fever  heat. 

'  Plate  146,  p.  351.         =>  Plate  147,  p.  353.  3  Plate  148,  p.  355. 


Plate  146.      A  portrait  of  Charlotte  Corday.     From  the  painting 

by  Haucr. 


3SI 


352  The  French  Revokition 

The  body  was  exposed  to  view  in  the  bath  and 
with  the  blood-stained  shirt  hanging  near.  Orator 
succeeded  orator  and  wrung  tears  by  plaintive 
laments : 

Citizens,  strew  flowers  over  the  pale  corpse  of  Marat. 
He  was  our  friend,  the  friend  of  the  people.  For  the  people 
he  lived,  for  the  people  he  died.  .  .  .  Marat,  rare  and 
sublime  soul,  we  will  imitate  thee,  we  will  crush  all  traitors! 
Our  courage,  our  virtue  shall  avenge  thy  death.  We  swear 
it  on  thy  bloody  corpse,  on  the  dagger  which  has  pierced 
thy  breast !     We  swear  it !  ^ 

The  Chronique  de  Paris, ~  after  telling  how  a  fury 
from  Caen  has  plunged  a  dagger  into  the  breast 
of  the  apostle  and  martyr  of  liberty,  declares 
solemnly  that  the  hour  of  freedom  has  sounded 
and  that  the  blood  that  has  just  flowed  is  the 
fulminating  decree  of  condemnation  for  all  traitors. 
The  laws  and  coercive  measures  become  now  more 
uncompromisingly  severe,  more  utterly  tyrannical. 
Speculators  in  grain,  for  instance — who  are  scourged 
as  vampires,  beasts  of  prey,  and  assassins  of  the 
poor — are  declared  to  be  guilty  of  a  capital  crime. ^ 
A  repetition  of  a  refusal  to  receive  assignats  as 
legal  tender  is  to  be  punishable  with  twenty  years 
in  irons. "^  On  August  ist  all  Bourbons  not  in  prison 
were  expelled  from  the  soil  of  France,  while  the 
expenditures  for  the  captives  in  the  Temple  were 
reduced   to   a   minimum.     A   special   decree   had 

'  Journal  de  la  Montagne,  in  Buchez  et  Roux,  xxviii.,  388. 

^  July  17th.  i  Moniteur,  ]n\y  26th..  -t //,.^  July  30th. 


'n 


^ 


J.  ll».  MAKAT 

AA    A    I.I'INI-'M:    K\  1-4.') 
iijrjn.T.i i/w  /f  li  iin//i/  /(//I  /''''  i/f  Af  /ft'iiu/i//i/ 


Hall-  147.      A  |x>rtrail  of  Marat  cnRravoi!  fmm  his  dcath- 
ma-sk  and  showing  the  K^ping  wound  in  his  Ijreast. 


33 


.^5.^ 


354  The  French  Revolution 

already  ordered  that  Marie  Antoinette  be  separated 
from  her  son.' 

On  August  6th  the  Journal  de  la  Montague 
tells    us : 

The  administration  has  taken  steps  to  arrest  all  sus- 
pected persons.  Last  Friday  the  so-called  National 
Theatre,  the  Vaudeville,  and  the  Opera,  were  surrounded 
by  an  armed  force  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock.  No 
one  might  leave  without  showing  his  card  [of  civism]. 
The  number  of  young  men  arrested  is  estimated  at  five 
hundred. 


Under  the  Girondist  regime  a  new  Constitution 
had  been  drawn  up  and  almost  brought  to  com- 
pletion. It  was,  of  course,  now  a  dead  letter  for 
it  was  tainted  with  federalism.  But  a  new  one 
was  ready  in  about  seven  weeks.  It  had  become 
as  easy  to  make  laws  as  to  issue  paper  money; 
more  than  eleven  thousand  of  them  were  passed 
under  France's  first  three  Assemblies. 

What  shall  we  say  of  the  new  Constitution?  It 
was  more  socialistic  than  its  predecessors,  going 
so  far  as  to  formulate  the  theory  that  society 
owed  support  to  those  unable  to  find  work  and  to 
declare  insurrection  a  sacred  duty  under  certain 
circumstances.  The  right  of  forming  popular 
societies  like  the  Jacobin  Club  was  also  vindicated. 
On  July  25th  the  Convention  had  decreed  it  a 
crime  against  liberty,  and  punishable  as  such,  to 
attempt  to  dissolve  such  societies.^ 

'  The  original  manuscript  of  the  decree.  National  Archives. 
'  Duvergier,  vi.,  54. 


f^^"  Lt^A.*^  w  .m'  J    . 


VL.'v  C.I.OIRK  IMMOUTKl.   DK  MAllAl    l.'A.Ml  1)1    1>KI   1>|.K 


rblc  14H.     A  rcprcscntalion  of  the  Unnl)  in  wljirh  Marat's  rt-mains  were 
placed  lxrf»<rc  U-inj;  tninsfcrn*<I  to  tlic  I'anthi-<»n.     It  faic<l  tlic 
"National  I'al.uc,"  ftinni-rly  the  TuiliTics. 
355 


356 


The  French  Revolution 


This  Constitution  of  1793,  although  it  was 
accepted  by  nearly  all  France,  was  never  to  be 
applied;  for,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  permanent 


Plate  149.      A  representation  of  the  first  stage  of  the  Fete  to  Unity 

and  Indivisibility.     The  Fountain  of  Regeneration  is  to  be 

erected  on  the  site  of  the  Bastile. 

laws  of  any  kind  were  to  prove  too  hampering  for 
liberty.  But  for  the  moment  the  Mountain  was 
intensely  proud  of  its  work.  In  honour  of  the 
acceptance  of  the  Constitution  and  at  the  same 
time  of  the  victory  over  federalism,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  give  one  of  the  grandest  fetes  that  the 
mind  of  man  had  ever  imagined.     The  day  chosen 


Proscription  357 

was  August  loth,  anniversary  of  the  storming  of 
the  Tuileries. 

The  arrangements  were  made  by  Davitl,  tlie 
famous  painter,  to  whom  it  seems  to  have  been 
incHfferent  whether  he  glorified  the  repubhc  or  the 
Empire,  Robespierre  or  Napoleon.  His  full  pro- 
gramme for  the  occasion  has  been  preserved  ■  but 
would  be  much  less  intelligible  were  it  not  for  a 
series  of  sLx  sketches,  possibly  also  by  David, 
which  show  the  different  stages  of  the  fete. 

We  have  reached  the  highest  point  of  symbol- 
ism in  the  French  Revolution.  Alas,  these  poor 
people  needed  to  be  dazzled  and  blinded  in  order 
to  make  them  forget  the  hideous  realities  beneath 
it  all!  Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity  had 
proved  hollow  mockeries;  all  the  more  were  they 
to  be  clung  fast  to  as  high  ideals.  David's  report 
to  the  Convention  embodying  his  programme  for 
the  day  is  such  a  treasure-trove  of  Revolutionary 
allegory  that  it  is  necessary  to  give  it  here  in  full : 

The  French  assembled  to  celebrate  the  fete  of  Unity  and 
In(Hvisil)ility  will  rise  before  dawn.  The  touching  scene 
of  their  reunion  will  be  lightened  by  the  first  rays  of  the 
sun.  This  beneficent  star  whose  light  extends  throughout 
the  universe  will  be  U)  them  the  symbol  of  truth  to  whiih 
they  will  address  praises  and  h}Tnns. 

The  gathering  will  take  j)lac-e  on  the  site  of  the 
Bastilc.'  In  the  midst  of  its  ruins  will  be  erected  the 
founUiin  of  Regeneration  representing  nature.  I'Vom  her 
fertile  brca.sts  (which  she  will  press  with  her  hands)  will 
spurt  an  abundance  of  pure  and  healthful  water  of  which 

•  In  the  Chroniquf  de  Purn.  July  ibUi.  »  I'lati-  I4<j,  \t.  \^(t. 


358  The  French  Revolution 

shall  drink,  each  in  his  turn,  eighty-six  commissioners,  sent 
by  the  primary  assemblies — ^one,  namely,  from  each  depart- 
ment, seniority  being  given  the  preference. 

A  single  cup  shall  serve  for  all.  After  the  president  of 
the  National  Convention  shall  have  watered  the  soil  of 
liberty  by  a  sort  of  libation,  he  shall  be  the  first  to  drink; 
he  shall  then  pass  the  cup  in  succession  to  the  commission- 
ers of  the  primary  assemblies.  They  shall  be  summoned 
alphabetically  to  the  sound  of  the  drum  and  trumpet. 
Each  time  a  commissioner  shall  have  drunk,  a  salvo  of 
artillery  shall  announce  the  consummation  of  this  act  of 
fraternity. 

Then,  to  the  beloved  air  of  the  "Children  of  Marseilles," 
strophes  shall  be  sung  that  bear  analogy  to  the  ceremony. 
The  surrounding  scene  shall  be  simple;  its  richness  shall 
be  adopted  from  nature.  Here  and  there  one  shall  see, 
traced  on  stones,  inscriptions  which  shall  recall  the  monu- 
ment of  our  ancient  servitude;  and  the  commissioners, 
having  all  drunk,  shall  reciprocally  give  each  other  the 
fraternal  kiss. 

The  cortege  shall  march  along  the  boulevards.  At  its 
head  shall  be  the  popular  societies  in  a  body.  They  shall 
bear  a  banner  on  which  shall  be  painted  the  eye  of  vigilance 
penetrating  a  thick  cloud. 

The  second  group  shall  be  composed  of  the  National 
Convention  marching  in  a  body,  its  ushers  in  the  lead. 
As  the  one  and  only  distinctive  mark,  each  of  its  members 
shall  bear  in  his  hand  a  bouquet,  formed  of  sheaves  of  wheat 
and  of  different  fruits.  Eight  of  them  shall  carry  on  a 
litter  an  ark;  it  shall  be  open;  it  shall  have  in  it  the  tablets 
on  which  are  engraved  the  rights  of  man  and  the  constitu- 
tional document.  The  commissioners  delegated  from  the 
primary  assemblies  of  the  eight3^-six  departments  shall 
form  a  chain  around  the  National  Convention.  They  shall 
be  joined  one  to  another  by  the  light  but  indissoluble  bond 
of  Unity  and  Indivisibility  formed  by  a  tri-coloured  cordon. 
Each  one  of  them  shall  be  distinguished  by  a  pike  or  portion 


Proscription  359 

of  the  fascicle  his  department  will  have  confided  to  him — • 
which  he  shall  hold  in  one  hand  with  a  little  banner  in- 
scribed with  the  name  of  his  department — and  by  an  olive- 
branch,  symbol  of  peace,  which  he  shall  carry  in  the  other. 
The  delegates  from  the  primary  assemblies  shall  likewise 
carry  the  olive-branch  in  their  hands. 

The  third  group  shall  be  composed  of  the  whole  worthy 
mass  of  the  sovereign:  here  everything  is  eclipsed,  every- 
thing mingled  in  the  presence  of  the  primary  assemblies. 
Here  there  is  no  longer  such  a  thing  as  a  corporation.  All 
useful  members  of  society  shall  be  massed  together  indis- 
criminately, although  characterized  by  their  distinctive 
marks. 

Thus  shall  one  see  the  president  of  the  provisional 
executive  council  on  a  line  with  the  blacksmith ;  the  mayor 
with  his  scarf  side  by  side  with  the  wood-chopper  or  mason; 
the  judge,  in  his  robes  and  his  plumed  hat,  next  to  the 
dyer  or  shoemaker.  The  black  African,  differing  only  in 
colour,  shall  walk  beside  the  white  European.  The  inter- 
esting scholars  of  the  institution  for  the  blind,  drawn  on  a 
moving  platform,  shall  present  the  touching  spectacle  of 
misfortune  honoured.  You,  too,  shall  be  there,  tender 
nurslings  of  the  foundling  asylum,  carried  in  white  bassi- 
nettes: you  shall  begin  to  enjoy  your  civil  rights  which  you 
have  so  justly  recovered!  And  you,  worthy  lal)ourcrs,  you 
shall  carry  in  triumph  the  useful  and  honourable  tools  of 
your  calling!  Finally  in  the  midst  of  this  numerous  and  in- 
dustrious family,  one  will  especially  notice  a  true  triumphal 
car  formed  by  a  simple  plough  on  which  will  be  seated  an 
old  man  and  his  old  wife,  drawn  l)y  their  own  children — a 
t'juching  exami)le  of  filial  piety  and  of  veneration  for  old 
age. 

Among  the  attributes  of  all  its  diflercnt  trades  one  will 
read  these  W(jrds  written  in  large  letters:  "Such  is  the 
service  which  an  indefatigable  peojjle  renders  to  human 
society." 

.\    military   grouj)    shall    follow    this  one,    escorting   in 


36o 


The  French  Revolution 


triumph  a  car  drawn  by  eight  white  horses.  It  will 
contain  an  um,  depository  of  the  ashes  of  the  heroes  who 
have  died  gloriously  for  their  country.  This  car,  adorned 
with  garlands  and  civic  crowns,  shall  be  surrounded  by  the 


Plate  150.     A  representation  of  the  second  stage  of  the  F6tc  to 

Unity  and  Indivisibility.     The  meeting  with  the 

"  Heroines  of  Liberty.  " 

relatives  of  those  whose  virtue  and  courage  are  being 
honoured;  the  citizens  of  every  age  and  of  every  sex  [sic] 
shall  each  carry  garlands  of  flowers  in  their  hands.  Braziers 
shall  bum  perfumes  around  the  car  and  military  music 
shall  make  the  air  resound  with  its  warlike  tones.  A  de- 
tachment of  infantry  and  cavalry  shall  bring  up  the  rear 
and  in  the  midst  of  it  shall  be  drawn  carts  covered  with 


Proscription  361 

hangings  shot  through  with  fleurs-de-lis  and  filled  with  the 
plunder  of  the  vile  attributes  of  royalty  and  all  these 
haughty  gewgaws  of  ignorant  nobility.  On  banners  in 
these  carts  one  will  read  these  words:  "People,  here  is 
what  has  caused  all  the  misfortunes  of  human  society." 

^ATicn  the  procession  has  arrived  in  this  order  on  the 
Boulevard  Poissonierc,  one  will  meet,'  under  a  portico 
or  triumphal  arch,  the  heroines  of  the  fifth  and  sixth 
of  October,  seated  as  they  were  then  on  their  cannon. 
Some  will  bear  branches  of  trees,  others  trophies  which  shall 
be  unequivocal  signs  of  the  brilliant  victory  these  courageous 
citizenesses  won  at  that  time  over  the  servile  body-guards. 
There  they  shall  receive  from  the  hands  of  the  president 
or  the  National  Convention  a  branch  of  laurel  and  then, 
with  their  cannon  turned  round,  the\'  shall  follow^  the  line 
of  march  and,  always  with  a  proud  attitude,  shall  join  the 
sovereign.  On  the  monument  will  be  inscriptions  recalling 
these  two  memorable  days.  The  harangues,  the  joyous 
songs,  the  salvos  of  artillery,  will  be  renewed  at  each 
halting-place. 

Citizens,  we  have  reached  the  immortal  and  imperishable 
day  of  the  loth.^  It  is  in  the  Place  dc  la  Revolution,  it  is 
on  the  spot  where  the  tyrant  died  that  it  must  be  celebrated. 

On  the  remains  of  the  pedestal  of  Tyranny  which  arc  still 
there  shall  Ije  erected  the  statue  of  Liberty,  which  shall  be 
inaugurated  with  due  s(jlemnity.  Tufted  oaks  shall  form 
around  her  an  imposing  mass  of  shade  and  verdure.^ 
The  branches  shall  be  covered  with  oiTerings  from  all  free 
French  people.  Tri-colourcd  ribbons,  lil^crty  cajjs,  hymns, 
inscriptions,  paintings,  will  be  Utc  fruits  that  will  ])lease 
the  goddess.  At  her  feet  will  be  an  cnonnous  pyre,  reached 
by  steps  from  on  all  sides:  there  in  ])rofounde.st  silence  shall 
be  oflered  in  expiatory  sacrifice  the  im])ostured  attributes 
of  royalty.  There,  in  the  presence  of  the  belox'cd  goddess 
of  the  French,  the  eighty-six  commissioners,  each  with  a 

'  Plato  150.  p.  360.  '  Plate-  I. SI.  p.  Mi2. 

i  I''.r  a  Letter  vitw  of  this  statue  of  Lilx:rty,  sec  Platr  152,  p.  363. 


362 


The  French  Revolution 


torch  in  his  hand,  shall  vie  with  each  other  in  applying  the 
flame;  there  the  memory  of  the  tyrant  shall  be  devoted  to 
public  execration  and  then  immediately  thousands  of  birds, 
restored  to  liberty  and  bearing  on  their  necks  light  bands 


Plate  151.     A  representation  of  the  third  stage  of  the  F^te  to  Unity 

and  IndivisibiHty.     The  statue  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  was 

on  the  pedestal  of  the  old  statue  of  Louis  XV. 

on  which  shall  be  written  some  articles  of  the  declaration 
of  the  rights  of  man,  shall  take  their  rapid  flight  through 
the  air  and  carry  to  heaven  the  testimony  of  liberty  restored 
to  earth. 

The  fourth  halt^  shall  be  made  in  the  Place  des  Invalides. 
In  the  middle  of  the  Place,  on  the  summit  of  a  mountain, 

^  Plate  153,  p.  364. 


O 

O 

Si 


3 

[/) 

v 

•  •-I 

o 

a 
o 
U 


o 

& 

o 


O 
> 

SI) 

Pi 


4) 

13 
o 

J3 


> 


363 


364 


The  French  Revolution 


shall  be  represented  a  colossal  figure,  the  French  people, 
gathering  in  its  vigorous  arms  the  departmental  bundle  of 
staves.  Ambitious  federalism,  coming  forth  from  its  slimy 
marsh,  with  one  hand  brushing  aside  the  reeds,  tries  with 


Plate  153.     A  representation  of  the  fourth  stage  of  the  F^te  to 

Unity  and  Indivisibility.     A  colossal  figure  symbolizing  the 

French  people  is  annihilating  the  monster  called 

Federalism. 

the  other  to  detach  some  of  the  staves;  the  French  people 
catches  sight  of  it,  takes  its  club,  strikes  it,  and  makes  it 
return  to  its  pullulating  waters  never  to  quit  them  again. 

The  fifth  and  last  halt,^  finally,  shall  be  at  the  Champ  de 
Mars.  Before  entering  it,  a  striking  homage  shall  be  paid 
to  Equality — a  rightful  and  necessary  act  in  a  republic. 

'Plate  154,  p.  365. 


Proscription 


36- 


They  will  pass  under  a  gateway  of  which  nature  will  seem 
to  have  borne  the  whole  expense.  Two  figures,'  symbols 
of  Equality  and  Liberty,  shaded  by  dense  foliage  and  facing 
each  other  with  some  distance  between,  shall  hold  at  a 


;^;^^vj^:ii£l>££e"7^ 


Plate  154.      A  representation  of  the  fifth  stage  of  the  F<^te  to  Unity 

and  Indivisibility.     On  the  altar  of  the  Fatherland  (Champ  de 

Mars),  the  president  of  the  Convention  is  announcing 

the  acceptance  of  the  new  Constitution. 

proper  height  a  tri-colourcd  garland  drawn  to  full  length 
from  which  shall  be  hung  an  cnonnous  level — the  national 
level.     It  shall  soar  over  the  heads  of  all  without  distinction 
of  ijcrsrms.     Ye  proud  ones,  ye  shall  bend  N'our  necks! 
Arrived  at  the  Champ   de    Mars,    the   presidcMit  of   the 

'  Termes  in  the  original,  hcin^  Imsts  rising  directly  <nit  of  the  pedestal 
as  om-  sees  them  to-dav  in  \'irs.iilli-s. 


366  The  French  Revolution 

National  Convention,  the  Convention,  the  eighty-six 
commissioners  of  the  primary  assembHes  shall  mount  the 
steps  of  the  altar  of  the  fatherland.  At  the  same  time 
every  one  shall  go  and  attach  to  the  outer  surface  of  the 
altar  his  offering:  the  fruits  of  his  labour,  the  implements  of 
his  trade  or  art.  It  will  thus  be  more  magnificently  adorned 
than  by  the  far-fetched  emblems  of  insignificant  painting. 

Here  we  have  an  immense  and  industrious  people  doing 
homage  to  its  country  with  the  instruments  of  the  calling 
by  which  it  supports  wife  and  children.  When  this  cere- 
mony is  over,  the  people  shall  range  themselves  round  the 
altar.  Then  the  president  of  the  National  Convention, 
having  laid  on  the  altar  of  the  Fatherland  all  the  counts  of 
the  ballots  in  the  primary  assemblies,  the  will  of  the  French 
people  regarding  the  Constitution  shall  be  proclaimed  in 
the  presence  of  all  the  delegates  of  the  sovereign  and  under 
the  vault  of  heaven.  The  people  shall  take  a  vow  to 
defend  it  unto  death.  A  general  salvo  shall  announce  this 
sublime  taking  of  the  oath.  This  done,  the  eighty-six 
commissioners  delegated  by  the  primary  assemblies  shall 
advance  towards  the  president  of  the  Convention  and 
shall  deliver  over  to  him,  each  in  turn,  the  portion  of  the 
bundle  of  staves  he  has  been  carrying  in  his  hand  throughout 
the  whole  march.  The  president  shall  seize  them  and  shall 
bind  them  all  together  with  a  tri-coloured  ribbon;  then 
shall  give  back  to  the  people  the  bundle  tightly  tied,  ex- 
plaining that  the  people  will  be  invincible  if  there  be  no 
division  among  them.  He  will  also  hand  over  to  them  the 
ark  holding  the  Constitution  and  will  proclaim  aloud: 
"People,  I  make  you  the  depositary  of  the  Constitution 
under  the  safeguard  of  all  the  virtues." 

The  people  will  respectfully  receive  the  ark  and  the  bundle 
of  staves  and  will  carry  them  in  triumph.  Fraternal 
kisses,  a  thousand  times  repeated,  will  terminate  this  novel 
and  touching  scene. 

In  the  engraving  we  have  a  sixth  stage  of  the 


Proscription 


367 


proceedings'  taking  place  around  a  funeral  monu- 
ment erected  in  the  Champ  de  Mars  in  memory 
of  the  warriors  who  had  died  for  tlieir  country. 
This  was  probably  only  a  project,  the  times  being 


Plate  155.     A  representation  of  the  sixth  stage  of  the  F6te  to  Unity 
and  Indivisibility.     The  temple  is  in  honour  of  the  dead  warriors. 

too  troubled  for  the  erection  of  so  elaborate  a 
monument.  David  himself  was  occupied  with 
Marat's  funeral,  and  we  see  from  the  newspapers 
how,  in  the  very  articles  describing  the  f6tc,  the 
call  to  arms  is  interwoven.  The  Cliroiiqiic  dc 
Paris  writes  on  August  \(A\\: 

'  Pl.itc  t  S.S.  above. 


368 


The  French  Revolution 


Never  since  men  and  empires  existed  did  a  greater  social 
act  culminate  in  a  fete  so  august  and  so  touching.  .  .  . 
O  spectacle  the  most  magnificent  and  the  most  moving 
that  Earth  ever  displayed  to  the  eyes  of  the  Eternal! 


0 


Plate  156.     A  symbolical  representation  of  Unity  and  Indivisibility. 

To  arms,  Frenchmen !  At  the  very  moment  when  a  nation 
of  friends  and  brothers  are  clasping  each  other  in  their 
embraces  the  despots  of  Europe  are  violating  our  property 
and  devastating  our  frontiers.  .  .  .  This  time  let  all 
perish;  and  let  their  bones  bleaching  in  our  fields  rise  like 
trophies  in  the  ground  that  their  blood  will  have  rendered 
more  fertile ! 


The  ark  with  the  Constitution  and  the  bundle  of 


Proscription 


369 


staves  representing  Unity  and  Indivisibility  were 
carried  the  next  day  into  the  hall  of  the  National 
Convention  and  Dav-id  promised  to  design  a 
resting-place  for  them.  Yet  before  the  Constitu- 
tion could  go  into  effect  it  was  found  necessary  to 


Plate  1 57.     A  symbolical  representation  of  Unity  and 

Indivisibility  watched  over  by  the  vigilant  eye 

of  the  Jacobins. 

decree  that  "the  government  of  France  is  to  be 
revolutionary  until  peace  is  proclaimed"  and  that 
terror  was  the  (^rder  of  the  day.  It  remained 
forever  a  dead  letter. 

We  have  various  symbolical  representations  that 
have  to  do  with  this  theme  of  indivisibility.  In  one,' 
France  is  looking  fon\'ard  to  a  new  day,  her  feet  on 

■  Plate  156,  p.  36H. 
34 


370  The  French  Revolution 

the  dead  hydra  of  Federalism,  her  arm  resting  on 
a  shield  with  the  bundle  of  staves  tightly  tied  to- 
gether, while  beneath  is  the  inscription,  "In  the 
name  of  the  republic  one  and  indivisible."  In  an- 
other production'  the  most  prominent  feature  is  an 
eye — the  eye  of  vigilance  of  the  Jacobins.  David,  it 
will  be  remembered,  had  given  the  most  prominent 
place  in  his  procession  to  the  so-called  popular 
societies,  and  this  emblem  of  the  eye  had  figured 
on  their  banner.  Then,  indeed,  the  eye  had  been 
represented  as  piercing  a  thick  cloud:  now  it  is  in 
the  very  centre  of  the  blazing  sun.  From  that  sun, 
in  all  directions,  emanate  vivifying  rays,  and  to  it 
are  turning  the  barking  dog  and  the  crowing  cock, 
watchers-out  for  France's  safety.  Unity  has 
become  as  much  of  an  attribute  of  the  young 
republic  as  Liberty,  Equality,  or  Fraternity.  But 
there  is  a  dark  presence  now  on  almost  all 
the  symbols.  In  different  forms  we  are  told 
again  and  again  that  the  alternative  is  death. 
The  Reign  of  Terror  has  begun. 

'Plate  157,  p.  369. 


CHAPTER  XI 

TERROR 

AN  engraving  '  published  after  the  victory  over 
the  Girondists,  and  glorifying  the  unity  and 
indivisibility  of  the  French  republic,  has  a 
cap  of  liberty  and  a  grinning  skull  with  the  words 
between,  "  No  middle  course";  and  that  was  to  be 
the  policy  of  those  governing  France  during  the 
whole  of  the  next  dark  year.  We  have  a  repre- 
sentation, too,  of  the  Martyrs  of  Liberty^  whose 
deaths  are  to  be  avenged:  Lepelletier,  who  was 
murdered  at  the  time  of  Louis  XVI's  execution; 
Marat,  and  Chalier,  who  was  put  to  death  four 
days  after  Marat  by  adherents  of  the  Girondists, 
in  the  town  of  Lyons,  In  the  background  on  the 
left  one  sees  the  Bastile  with  the  inevitable  "Live 
free  or  die,"  on  the  right  the  Pantheon,  where 
these  three  are  to  be  received  among  France's 
great  men. 

On  July  27th  Robespierre  became  a  member  of 
the  Committee  of  Pul)lic  vSafety,  and  the  scries  of 
severe  measures  began  that  were  to  send  so  many 
hundreds  to  the  guillotine  merely  because  of  their 
pfjlitical  opinions  and  that  made  a  pure  mockery 

»  Plate  158,  p.  372.  •  Plate  15*;.  j).  373. 

371 


372 


The  French  Revolution 


of  all  legal  forms.  On  July  30th  the  Revolutionary 
Tribunal  was  divided  into  two  sections,  thus  doubl- 
ing its  activity.  A  few  days  later  it  was  redivided 
into  four.  We  now  begin  to  hear  frequently  of 
a  new  class  of  criminals,  the  suspects.     We  have 


Plate  158.      An  emblem  of  the  Reign  of  Terror.     There  is  to 
be  no  mean  between  Liberty  and  Death. 

harangues  like  this  in  the  Convention :  '  'No  more 
quarter,  no  more  mercy  for  traitors" — (simultan- 
eous cries  from  all  parts  of  the  hall  of  "No!  No!") 
"If  we  do  not  get  ahead  of  them  they  will  get 
ahead  of  us.  Let  us  cast  between  them  and  us 
the  barrier  of  Eternity  .  .  .  The  day  of  justice 
and  of  wrath  has  come." 

Billaud-Varennes  moved  the  establishment  of  a 


Plate  159.     A  representation  of  Lil)erty  and  her  great  martyrs,  I.t-pL-lk'tifr, 
Marat,  and  Chalier,  whose  deaths  cry  for  vengeance. 


,17.1 


374  The  French  Revolution 

Revolutionary  army,  and  Danton,  in  supporting 
him,  called  for  bi-weekly  assemblies  of  the  sections 
of  Paris,  each  person  attending  to  be  given  forty 
sous  a  day  and  a  hundred  million  francs  being 
appropriated  to  supply  these  citizens  with  arms — ■ 
measures  which  were  immediately  passed.  The 
Revolutionary  committees  were  given  power  to 
issue  warrants  of  arrest,  as  well  as  to  make  domi- 
ciliary visits  and  seize  what  weapons  they  might 
find. 

The  satellites  of  tyrants  [cried  the  spokesman  of  a  Ja- 
cobin deputation  on  September  6th],  the  ferocious  islanders, 
the  tyrants  of  the  North  who  spread  devastation  among 
us,  are  less  to  be  feared  than  the  traitors  who  disquiet  us 
within,  who  sow  discord,  who  arm  us  one  against  the 
other.  .  .  .  It  is  time  that  Equality  wield  her  scythe  above 
all  heads.  It  is  time  to  frighten  all  conspirators.  Yes, 
Legislators,  make  terror  the  order  of  the  day!  (Vehement 
applause !) 

"The  day  has  come  to  be  as  inflexible  as  you  have 
hitherto  been  weak!"  cried  Drouet;  "the  moment 
is  there  for  shedding  the  blood  of  the  guilty !  .  .  . 
Let  us  be  brigands — "  but  here,  to  its  credit,  there 
were  murmurs  in  the  Assembly.  Drouet  had  to 
explain  away  his  forcible  utterance  and  contented 
himself  with  extolling  the  words  of  the  delegate 
from  the  Commune,  "Let  us  make  terror  the 
order  of  the  day,"  and  with  apostrophizing  the 
enemies  of  the  Mountain — "Well,  the  Mountain 
will  crush  you!"  It  was  decided  that  the  Revolu- 
tionary army  should  number  six  thousand  men. 


Terror  375 

As  at  the  time  of  the  September  massacres,  so 
now  the  happenings  in  the  field  served  as  an  excuse 
for  all  the  severities.  On  July  23d,  Alainz  had 
been  lost  to  France  after  its  garrison  had  been 
reduced  to  eating  cats  and  mice;  on  the  28th 
Valenciennes  had  been  recovered  by  the  Austrians; 
on  August  27th  Toulon  admitted  the  English  to 
its  harbour.  The  rebels  were  in  the  ascendant  in 
La  Vendee  and  in  Lyons.  The  Convention  decreed 
the  levee  en  masse,  and  ordered  the  young  men  to 
hurry  to  the  battle-line  and  the  old  men  to  sit  in 
the  public  squares  and  preach  hatred  of  kings  and 
the  unity  of  the  republic.  The  women  were  to 
make  tents  and  uniforms  and  act  as  nurses,  while 
even  the  children  were  to  fray  lint.  The  public 
buildings  were  turned  into  barracks,  the  squares 
into  arsenals.  All  horses  not  needed  for  agricul- 
ture were  requisitioned ;  all  cellar  floors  were  to  be 
scraped  for  saltpetre  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  gunpowder. 

In  September  strong  fetters  were  laid  upon 
commerce  by  fixing  a  maximum  price  at  which  the 
necessaries  of  life  might  be  sold,  a  measure  which 
very  soon  resulted  in  famine.  It  was  characteristic 
of  these  men  to  accomplish  their  narrowest  views, 
regardless  of  consequences.  Their  one  idea  was 
that  the  patriots  must  be  clothed  and  fed  at  a  price 
within  their  means.  This,  they  declared,  was  more 
important  to  the  national  welfare  than  that  mer- 
chants should  grow  rich.  So  a  long  list  was  pre- 
pared fixing  the  prices  (;r'  objects  of  prime  necessity; 
and  these  objects  were  made  to  range  from  meat 


Zl^  The  French  Revolution 

to  white  paper.  The  blow  to  enterprise  was 
deadly. 

No  wonder  such  measures  roused  discontent 
and  that  the  women  of  the  market  armed  them- 
selves with  whips  and  declared  they  would  trounce 
all  who  wore  the  national  cockade.  ''All  agree 
on  one  point,"  writes  an  agent  of  the  police,  ''the 
need  of  a  new  order  of  things."  One  of  the  govern- 
ment spies  reported  that  a  pack  of  playing-cards 
was  circulating  in  which  the  Kings  were  made  in 
the  likeness  of  Dumouriez,  the  Queens  were 
Charlotte  Cordays,  and  the  Knaves  were  the 
soldiers  of  the  republic!  Alarming  symptoms, 
cankerous  sores,  for  which  Hebert  and  Chaumette, 
Robespierre  and  St. -Just,  could  think  of  no  reme- 
dies but  more  and  more  Draconic  laws!  These 
reptiles  with  venomous  stings  must  be  crushed, 
this  impious  struggle  must  cease,  the  enemies  of 
the  republic  must  be  destroyed  lest  they  in  turn 
destroy.  ' '  Hercules  is  ready !  Give  the  club  into 
his  robust  hands,"  cried  Chaumette,"  and  soon  the 
soil  of  Liberty  will  be  purged  of  all  the  brigands 
that  infest  it!"  It  was  Chaumette  who  wished 
all  parks  and  gardens  of  the  rich  to  be  ploughed 
up  and  planted  to  vegetables.  He  urged  the 
arrest  of  all  nobles  as  enemies  of  humanity. 

On  September  17th  it  was  decreed  that  "all 
suspects  who  are  still  at  liberty  shall  be  placed 
under  arrest,"  and  the  decree  applied  to  all  French 
territory.  Suspects  were  defined  as  those  who  had 
shown  themselves  the  friends  of  tyranny  and 
federalism    either    by    words    they    might    have 


Terror 


•/  / 


written  or  remarks  they  might  have  made,  and 
even  those  who  cannot  prove  their  patriotism 
and  "have  not  constantly  manifested  their  attach- 
ment to  the  Revolution."  Tribunals  were  author- 
ized to  retain  in  jail  even  those  who  had  been 
legally  acquitted. 

No  wonder  the  number  of  prisons  had  to  be 
trebled  and  quadrupled.  The  law  was  to  be  no 
dead  letter.  We  have  the  instructions  that 
Chaumette  issued  to  the  "sections"  of  Paris  as  to 
how  the  suspects  were  to  be  recognized.  Included 
are  those  who  have  tried  to  impede  the  work  of  the 
local  assemblies  by  "astute  discourses,"  as  well 
as  those  who  "speak  mysteriously  of  the  mis- 
fortunes of  the  republic  and  bewail  the  fate  of  the 
people  but  are  always  ready  to  spread  bad  news, 
even  when  affecting  to  grieve  over  it."  Tliose  who 
"while  they  have  done  nothing  against  Liberty 
yet  have  done  nothing  for  it"  are  likewise  to  be 
classed  among  the  suspects.  When  we  reflect  that 
informers  were  always  welcomed  and  rewarded, 
and  that  in  each  town  of  France  the  Jacobin  Club, 
receiving  its  orders  from  the  mother  society  in 
Paris  kept  open  the  eye  of  vigilance,  one  wonders 
if  even  religious  persecution  in  the  ignorant 
Middle  Ages  ever  went  so  far. 

The  all -important  certificates  of  civism  were 
refused  by  the  Commune  of  Paris  to  whole  cate- 
gories of  persons — to  all  of  the  twenty  thousand, 
for  instance,  who  had  signed  the  petition  protesting 
against  the  violence  done  to  the  King  on  June  jo, 
1792.     The  actors  of  the  Theatre  Frangais  were 


S7^  The  French  Revolution 

arrested  for  uttering  a  verse  that  occurred  in  the 
play  of  Pamela:  "  The  party  that  triumphs  is  the 
only  legitimate  one." 

The  sufferings  to  which  the  flower  of  France — • 
those  who  made  the  least  attempt  to  think  or  act 
independently — ^were  now  subjected  are  almost 
inconceivable.  It  is  true  the  fiction  was  kept  up 
for  a  while  that  this  detention  was  merely  a 
measure  of  public  safety  and  that  the  prisoners 
might  make  themselves  as  comfortable  as  the 
circumstances  permitted.  Those  who  were  sent 
to  the  Luxembourg,  especially,  occupied  fine  airy 
apartments,  and  the  accounts  of  some  of  the  doings 
remind  one  of  Boccaccio.  In  Port-Royal,  which 
had  been  rechristened  Port-Libre,  it  was  the  same. 
There  were  irrepressible  spirits  who  feasted,  en- 
joyed music,  played  games,  and  made  love.  The 
usages  of  polite  society  were  observed,  and  a 
Monsieur  de  Nicolai,  we  are  told,  never  could  meet 
a  fellow-prisoner  at  a  door  without  disputing  who 
should  pass  out  first.  Visitors  were  admitted, 
and  the  prisoners  might  send  out  and  purchase 
what  they  wished  or  could  pay  for.  There  are 
records  of  kindly  concierges  who  did  all  in  their 
power  to  make  their  charges  comfortable. 

But  the  ignominy,  the  shame,  the  injustice,  the 
separation  from  those  near  and  dear  and  the  un- 
certainty as  to  their  fate:  the  eventual  crowding, 
too,  and  the  daily  dread  of  the  summons  from  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal,  soon  made  life  a  perfect 
hell.  And  a  great  number  of  prisons  were  little 
better  than  dungeons.     The  most  dreaded  of  all 


Terror  379 

was  the  Conciergcrie,  always  the  last  halting-place 
on  the  path  to  the  guillotine.  In  the  so-called 
Souricicrc  which  was  inexpressibly  foul  and  dis- 
gusting, one  had  to  fight  all  night  to  save  one's 
extremities  from  rats.  Madame  Roland,  in  Saint- 
Pelagie,  complained  of  the  narrowness,  of  the  dirt, 
of  the  annoyance  of  hearing  the  great  bolts  fastened, 
of  the  want  of  air,  of  the  exposure  to  the  gaze  of 
the  jailor.  Yet  Madame  Roland  exceeded  almost 
all  in  the  fortitude  with  which  she  bore  her  long 
sufferings  and  the  kindliness  and  self-sacrifice 
with  which  she  tried  to  alleviate  the  lot  of  those 
about  her.  She  found  sufficient  composure  of 
mind  while  in  prison  to  write  her  memoirs  and  to 
provide  for  their  being  spirited  away  to  a  place  of 
safety.  Only  half,  indeed,  of  what  she  wrote  has 
been  preserved. 

Those  Girondists,  too,  who  had  not  escaped 
from  Paris  bore  the  inevitable  philosophically,  and 
passed  the  time  in  profitable  conversation  and  in 
singing  the  songs  of  their  southern  home — the 
home  of  the  Troubadours. 

The  gaiety  on  which  some  writers  are  pleased 
to  dwell  was  often  mere  hysterical  desperation. 
Riouffe,  himself  long  a  prisoner,  tells  of  bursts  of 
mad  joy,  of  mock-guillotinings,  of  repasts  where 
one  tried  not  to  realize  that  half  of  those  present 
were  there  for  the  last  time.  Suicides  were  fre- 
quent: the  ex-Minister  Claviere  silently  hammered 
a  dagger  into  his  own  heart. 

Every  now  and  then  the  Monilrnr,  the  oriieial 
organ  of  the  govcrnmcnl,  gave  tlic  total   iiinnbcr 


380  The  French  Revolution 

of  prisoners  confined  in  Paris,  though  probably 
the  truth  was  but  half  told.  After  October,  1793, 
when  all  pretence  of  constitutionalism  had  van- 
ished, the  numbers  rose  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and, 
at  the  height  of  the  Terror,  there  were  about  eight 
thousand  in  prison  at  one  time. 

On  October  loth  it  was  decreed  by  the  Con- 
vention that  the  government  of  France  should  be 
revolutionary  so  long  as  war  continued.  There 
could  be  no  prosperity,  declared  St. -Just,  so  long 
as  one  enemy  of  Liberty  continued  to  draw  the 
breath  of  life.  Steel  was  to  take  the  place  of 
justice.  The  people  were  to  reign  over  the  rich 
and  "make  them  bathe  their  proud  brows  in 
sweat." 

On  that  same  day  the  Convention  hurled  its 
anathema  at  the  whole  flourishing  town  of  Lyons, 
which,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  raised  an  army 
and  outlawed  the  Mountain: 

The  town  of  Lyons  shall  be  destroyed;  the  name  Lyons 
shall  be  effaced  from  the  list  of  towns  of  the  Republic. 
What  remains  of  the  houses  shall  henceforth  be  called 
Ville  Affranchie.  A  column  shall  be  erected  on  the  ruins  to 
attest  to  posterity  the  crimes  and  the  punishment  of  the 
royalists  of  this  town.  On  it  shall  be  inscribed:  "Lyons 
made  war  on  Liberty.     Lyons  is  no  more." 

We  have  interesting  letters  from  Collot-d'Herbois' 
who  was  sent  to  oversee  the  demolition  and  the 
punishment  of  the  rebels : 

Terror,  salutary  terror,  is  truly  here  the  order  of  the  day 
'  Buchez  et  Roux,  xxx.,  399. 


■,:-!^ 


w^ 


r>,',  /,-„:, 


-,uv.„.. 


Plate  l6o.     A  cartoon  summinR  up  the  r<5>;inic  of  Rohcspicra-  ;in<l  showing;  tlic 
Frenchman  blindly  K'ropinjj  for  Libc-rty,  ICcju;ility.  and  Fraternity  witli 
Dwith  ever  at  hand  as  the  alternative. 

3«' 


382  The  French  Revolution 

,  .  .  when  we  are  able,  we  use  cannon  and  mines  in  the 
work  of  destruction,  but  you  can  imagine  that  among  a 
population  of  150,000  these  measures  find  many  obstacles. 
.  .  .  Sixty-four  of  these  conspirators  were  shot  yesterday. 
.  .  .  Two  hundred  and  thirty  are  to  fall  to-day.  ...  I 
do  not  think  I  have  once  shown  weakness,  though  health 
and  strength  have  often  failed  me.  .  .  .  There  are  sixty 
thousand  individuals  here  who  will  never  make  republicans : 
we  must  have  them  sent  away  and  carefully  scattered  over 
the  republic.  .  .  .  The  long  siege  and  general  daily  dan- 
ger have  inspired  a  sort  of  indifference  to  life:  yes,  a  total 
scorn  of  death.  Yesterday,  returning  from  an  execution 
a  spectator  said:  "  There  's  no  great  hardship  about  that. 
What  shall  I  do  to  be  guillotined?  Insult  the  representa- 
tives?" ...  I  have  new  measures  in  mind,  weighty  and 
effectual. 

We  have  letters  from  other  "patriots"  sent  to 
Lyons  that  are  even  more  horrible  than  those  of 
Collot-d'Herbois,  because  in  them  one  detects  a 
note  of  actual  glee: 

Heads,  more  heads  every  day!  .  .  .  How  you  would 
have  enjoyed  seeing  national  justice  meted  out  to  two 
hundred  and  nine  rogues!  .  .  .  What  cement  for  the 
republic!  ...  I  say  fete,  citizen  president — yes,  fete 
is  the  right  word!  .  .  .  The  guillotining  and  fusilading 
are  not  going  badly ! 

Probably  at  this  juncture  appeared  a  cartoon' 
called  ' '  The  French  people  or  the  regime  of  Robes- 
pierre." It  must  have  been  issued  in  the  same 
defiant  spirit  as  that  of  the  spectator  above  quoted. 
The  figure  in  the  middle  represents  the  people, 
and  he  is  blindfolded.     Around  him  are  Liberty, 

'  Plate  160,  p.  381. 


Terror  383 

Equality,  Fraternity,  and  Death.  He  tries  in 
vain  to  catch  any  one  of  them  and  comes  to  the 
conclusion:  "It  is  I  in  this  game  that  they  are 
trying  to  catch." 

On  October  3d  the  Convention  had  decreed 
outlaws  twenty  fugitive  Girondists,  had  ordered 
brought  to  trial  twenty-one  others,  and  had  sent 
to  arrest  all  of  the  seventy-five  of  its  own  members 
who  had  dared  to  remonstrate  at  the  happenings 
of  June  2d.  The  time  had  come  to  sentence  IVlarie 
Antoinette,  too,  and  Madame  Roland. 

For  the  former  Queen  of  France  the  day  even 
of  respectful  treatment  had  long  since  passed. 
On  August  2d  she  had  been  removed  to  the  Con- 
ciergerie,  and  in  September,  having  been  found 
corresponding  with  some  one  by  means  of  pin- 
pricks in  paper,  had  been  placed  in  a  double- 
doored,  heavily  barred  cell  and  obliged  to  submit 
to  the  scrutiny  of  jailors,  by  night  as  well  as  by  day. 
We  know  the  sums  that  were  spent  for  her  main- 
tenance: fifteen  francs  a  day  for  her  food;  three 
francs  and  eighteen  sons  for  trimming  a  skirt; 
eighteen  sons  for  hair  ribbon  and  shoe-strings; 
three  francs  twelve  sous  for  tooth-wash,  and 
sixteen  francs  for  books.  She  had  had  two  new 
caps — fourteen  francs  for  the  two.  Not  much 
for  a  woman  who  had  found  her  husband's  salary 
of  twenty-five  milHon  francs  and  her  own  i)in- 
money  of  four  milHon  francs  entirely  too  small! 

We  have  an  engraving  of  Marie  Antoinette' 
as  she  sits  in  her  lonely  cell   looking  up  at   the 

■  Plate  161,  p.  .^84. 


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384 


Terror  385 

scant  rays  of  light  that  come  though  the  small 
window.  We  can  see  in  the  accompanying  plan  the 
opening  that  separated  her  from  the  gendarmes. 
A  screen  was  her  only  protection. 

On  the  nth  of  October  the  unhappy  woman 
appeared  before  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal. 
Clothed  in  black,  she  entered  the  great  hall  of 
audience  and  seated  herself  in  front  of  Fouquier- 
Tinville,  the  relentless  public  prosecutor,  being 
guarded  on  either  side  by  an  officer  of  the  law. 
The  president  of  the  tribunal,  Hermann,  carried 
on  the  interrogation.  The  mere  dry  protocol  of 
the  hearing  is  more  eloquent  than  any  rhetoric 
and  shows  what  an  ordeal  it  must  have  been. 
The  hall  was  dim,  being  lighted  only  by  two  candles 
on  the  table  of  the  scribe,  who  wrote  down  the 
minutes  of  the  proceedings,  which  we  still  have. 
She  could  scarcely  see  the  president,  so  the  minutes 
tell  us,  and  behind,  completely  in  the  shadow, 
were  a  number  of  faces  that  she  could  not  recognize 
"which  greatly  disquieted  Antoinette." 

Her  answers  showed  courage  and  ability.  I^he 
questions  ranged  over  the  whole  period  since  her 
arrival  in  France,  and  dealt  with  her  extravagance, 
her  political  activity,  the  banquet  at  Versailles 
where  the  h)and  played  "O  Richard,  O  my  King," 
the  flight  to  Varennes,  the  loth  of  August.  For 
the  bloodshed  on  that  latter  date  Fouciuier-Tinville 
held  her  responsible.  The  man  had  a  sort  of 
lurid  power  of  expression  and  must  have  thrilled 
his  hearers  as  he  depicted  this  fury  sweeping  into 
the  hall  oi  the  Swiss  guards,  fiercely  urging  them 

as 


386  The  French  Revolution 

on,  even  taking  in  her  mouth  the  lead  they  were  man- 
ipulating and  biting  off  pieces  to  serve  as  bullets. 
She  had,  Fouquier  said,  secretly  advocated  the 
firing  on  the  people  and  had  thrust  a  pistol  into 
Louis  XVI's  unwilling  hand.  Some  of  the  ques- 
tions asked  her  were  useless  and  cruel.  Did  she 
consider  kings  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  the 
people?  Did  she  regret  that  her  son  had  lost  his 
throne? 

On  October  15th  Fouquier  gave  his  summing  up. 
Marie  Antoinette  was  a  Messalina,  a  Brunhilda, 
a  Fredegunda,  a  Marie  de  Medicis.  She  had  been 
a  scourge,  a  leech  to  the  French  people.  She  had 
corrupted  the  morals  of  her  own  son  and  Fouquier 
charged  her  with  abominable  doings,  the  mere 
idea  of  which  makes  one  shudder  with  horror. 
And  the  worst  of  it  was  that  such  a  confession  as 
Fouquier  wished  had  been  extorted  from  the  little 
Dauphin  who  could  not  in  the  least  have  known 
the  import  of  what  he  was  saying.  Marie  An- 
toinette's only  answer  was,  ''Could  a  mother  have 
done  such  things?" 

All  the  different  accusations  were  finally  con- 
centrated in  the  charge  that  she  had  ''attempted 
to  destroy  budding  Liberty."  The  jury  rendered 
a  unanimous  verdict  of  death  within  twenty-four 
hours. 

The  next  morning  before  dawn  she  wrote  a 
queenly  letter  to  Madame  Elizabeth.  It  was 
never  delivered,  but  was  placed  among  the  public 
documents  and  thus  has  been  preserved.  No 
one  can  read  it  to-day  without  feeling  a  tugging 


p. .  y 


... /. 


Plate-  162.      A  sketch  of  Marie  Antoinette  niaiii-  by  David  as  she  passed  his 
window  in  the  death -earl  on  her  way  to  execution. 


387 


388  The  French  Revolution 

at  the  heart-strings.  She  has  been  condemned, 
she  says,  to  death,  but  not  to  shame — that  is  only 
for  criminals.  Her  own  conscience  is  free  from 
reproach.  But  how  she  regrets  leaving  those  poor 
children!  "You  know  I  only  lived  for  them  and 
you."  She  prays  that  they  may  remain  united 
through  life  and  that  Madame  Elizabeth  may  be 
spared  to  watch  over  them.  She  expresses  humility, 
religious  fervour,  and  contrition  for  her  shortcom- 
ings and  ends  pathetically  with: 

Farewell,  my  good  and  gentle  sister.  May  this  letter 
reach  you!  Think  of  me  always.  With  my  whole  heart 
I  embrace  you  and  those  poor  dear  children.  My  God, 
how  heart-rending  it  is  to  part  from  them  forever !  Farewell, 
farewell!  I  shall  give  myself  up  to  my  spiritual  duties. 
As  I  am  not  free,  they  will  probably  bring  me  one  of  their 
priests,  but  I  swear  here  that  I  will  say  no  word  to  him 
but  treat  him  like  an  absolute  alien. 

The  artist  David,  sitting  at  the  side  of  the  noto- 
rious Madame  Tallien,  sketched  Marie  Antoinette 
as  she  passed  him  on  the  way  to  execution. '  Was 
it  meant  for  a  caricature,  or  did  the  once  beautiful 
Queen  really  look  like  that?  Her  hair  had,  indeed, 
been  cut  short  in  order  that  it  might  not  interfere 
when  the  blade  of  the  guillotine  descended  on  her 
neck ;  she  had  been  obliged  to  don  the  cap  of  Liber- 
ty ;  she  rode  in  a  common  cart  with  her  hands  tied 
behind  her  back.  At  all  events,  the  sketch  is  a 
striking  symbol  of  the  passing  of  the  glory  of  this 
world,  and  months  of  loneliness  and  dread  may 

'  Plate  162,  p.  387. 


Tenor 


389 


well  have  given  her  that  rigid  look.  The  drawing 
is  a  more  creditable  memorial  to  her  than  it  is  to 
David. 


Plate  163.     A  representation  of  a  iiKmorial  urn  with  the  silhouettes  of 
Louis  X\'I  and  Mario  Antoinette. 

We  have  the  representation  of  a  funeral  urn 
with  the  hidden  silhouettes  of  the  King  and  Oueen  ' 
which  scarcely  would  have  been  allowed  to  circulate 
in  France.     There  must  have  V)een  many,  however, 

'  Plate  163,  aliovc. 


390  The  French  Revolution 

who  felt  inclined  to  weep,  and  we  shall  see  in  our 
next  chapter  that  artists  treated  very  dangerous 
subjects. 

The  trial  of  the  Girondists  followed  immediately 
upon  that  of  the  Queen.  The  general  charge  was 
conspiracy  against  the  unity  and  indivisibility  of 
the  republic.  These  men  had  dared  to  recom- 
mend a  different  public  policy  from  that  of  the 
blind  fanatics  who  were  now  in  power — that  was 
their  real  crime.  How  far  removed  were  those 
dreams  of  liberty,  those  broken  yokes  and  sundered 
chains,  that  filled  the  minds  of  the  first  Revolu- 
tionists! The  rights  of  man,  where  now  were 
they?  The  very  essence  of  the  parliamentary 
system  is  that  men  may  not  be  called  to  account 
for  honest  opinions  they  may  have  expressed  in 
debate.  Yet  now,  every  old  grievance  of  the 
Mountain  against  the  Gironde  was  aired  anew. 
There  was  no  attempt  at  a  legal  conviction  for 
conspiracy.  The  only  proofs  adduced  were  utter- 
ances in  the  National  Assembly,  in  the  press,  or  in 
private  letters  that  had  been  seized.  Vergniaud's 
remark  to  Louis  on  August  loth  declaring  that 
the  Assembly  would  uphold  the  constituted 
authorities  was  now  imputed  as  a  crime;  every 
Girondist  objection  to  the  supremacy  of  Paris 
was  rehearsed.  One  member  had  called  it  a  den 
of  crime,  another  a  scene  of  carnage,  still  another 
had  declared  that  it  was  "the  tomb  of  national 
representation."  The  city  which  was  the  mother 
and  protectress  of  Liberty,  which  had  given  birth 
to  the  republic,  had  been  painted  by  these  wretches 


Terror  39 1' 

"under  odious  aspects,"  had  been  reported  as 
"swimming  in  blood!"  All  France  had  been 
called  in  to  destroy  it.  One  can  imagine  that 
Isnard's  unfortunate  remark  about  the  future 
traveller  searching  the  banks  of  the  Seine  to  see 
if  Paris  ever  existed  was  not  forgotten:  "He  has 
dared  to  unveil  the  intentions  of  the  conspirators 
by  this  atrocious  word." 

Few  trials  have  been  more  ludicrous  both  as 
regarded  the  charges  and  the  kind  of  evidence 
admitted.  Convictions  and  impressions  were  sol- 
emnly listened  to,  real  argiunents  accorded  no 
weight  whatever.  Brissot  interrupted  a  witness 
by  declaring  that  he  never  had  uttered  any  such 
calumnies  against  Paris  as  were  imputed  to  him. 
But  did  you  ever  deny  those  calumnies?  asked  the 
president  of  the  tribunal,  as  if  that  settled  the  ques- 
tion. It  was  taken  as  proof  of  caltunniating  Paris 
that  Brissot  had  once  contrasted  Robespierre's 
followers  with  honest  people.  Hebert  accom- 
plished a  master-stroke  by  turning  the  odium  for 
the  September  massacres  on  to  the  Girondists 
themselves.  They  had  instigated  them  simply 
for  the  pleasure  of  throwing  the  blame  on  the 
Parisians.  There  was  no  objection  when  Hebert 
gave  evidence  against  Roland  that  had  come  to 
him  not  even  at  second  but  at  third  hand.  Louvct, 
he  said,  who  was  known  to  be  Roland's  agent, 
hafl  U)\d  it  to  a  deputy  who  had  repeated  it  to  liim, 
Hebert.  In  the  .same  way  another  witness,  Moii- 
taut,  said  thai  Ouadet  had  told  Soulcs  who  h:u\  l<  ild 
him,  Montaut,  of  accrlnin  i)lol  to  murder  Maral. 


392  The  French  Revolution 

Every  patriotic  action  of  the  Girondists  was 
treated  as  having  been  hypocritical  and  performed 
with  ulterior  motives  in  view :  they  ' '  had  taught  all 
the  enemies  of  the  Revolution  the  hateful  art  of 
assassinating  Liberty  by  adopting  its  rallying  cry" ; 
they  had  made  a  habit  of  imputing  to  real  patri- 
ots the  crimes  they  themselves  were  meditating. 
In  short,  our  modern  minds  fairly  reel  when 
brought  into  the  presence  of  such  false  reasoning. 

Trial  by  jury  was  in  its  infancy  in  France  and 
was  intrenched  by  no  bulwark  of  long-established 
procedure.  Essential  features  of  it  were  now 
calmly  set  aside.  On  October  29th,  after  the 
trial  of  the  Girondists  had  lasted  three  days,  the 
Jacobin  Club  petitioned  the  Convention  to  free 
the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  "of  formalities  that 
stifle  the  conscience  and  hinder  conviction"  and 
permit  the  jury  to  give  a  verdict  whenever,  after 
three  days,  their  consciences  were  sufficiently 
satisfied.  The  decree  was  passed,  and  the  Revolu- 
tionary Tribunal  decided  on  June  30th  not  to  waste 
time  in  listening  to  the  defence,  but  at  once  to 
sentence  the  Girondists. 

We  have  the  minutes  of  the  tribunal  for  the 
session  in  which  judgment  was  passed  and  they 
tell  us  with  some  detail  what  a  commotion  there 
was  among  the  condemned  when  the  sentence 
was  read,  what  majesty  of  demeanour  the  pa- 
triots of  the  Mountain  preserved,  how  some  of 
the  Girondists  hurled  invectives  at  their  judges 
while  others  threw  assignats  to  the  people  and 
cried,    "Rally    to   us,   friends!"    how  the  people 


Terror  393 

trampled  the  assignats  under  foot  and  cried,  "  Long 
live  the  republic ! ' '  proving  by  this  truly  admirable 
conduct  that  they  are  inaccessible  to  corruption. 

Despairing  of  the  pass  to  which  French  justice 
had  come,  one  of  the  condemned  Girondists, 
Valaze,  stabbed  himself  to  the  heart  as  he  went  out 
from  the  hall.  He  had  cheated  the  guillotine.  We 
have  it  on  the  authority  of  a  clerk  of  the  court 
that  Fouquier-Tinville  wished  to  have  the  corpse 
beheaded,  but  the  tribunal  merely  decreed  that 
"the  corpse  of  said  Valaze  shall  lie  in  a  cart 
accompanying  those  that  transport  his  accomplices 
to  their  place  of  punishment,"  and  that  he  should 
be  buried  in  the  same  grave.  The  session  broke 
up  late  with  cries  of  "Perish  all  traitors!"  A 
fellow-prisoner  of  the  Girondists'  tells  how  that 
night  they  sang  their  own  dirges  and  how  "we  were 
so  uplifted  by  their  courage  that  we  only  felt  the 
blow  long  after  it  had  fallen."  Then,  indeed, 
"despair  seized  us  and,  weeping,  we  showed  each 
other  the  wretched  straw-heap  great  Vergniaud 
had  left  to  go  with  bound  hands  and  lay  his  head 
upon  the  scaffold." 

Rarely  a  day  passed  now  without  executions. 
Philippe  d'Orleans  had  toyed  with  the  Revolution, 
had  changed  his  name  to  Philippe  Egalite,  had 
voted  for  the  death  of  the  King:  but  it  availed  him 
nothing.  He  was  condemned  as  "an  author  or 
accomplice"  of  the  Girondist  plot.  He  showed 
pride  and  courage.  "One  would  have  taken  liiin 
for  a  conqueror  at  llu-  luad  of  his  soldiers,"  wriles 

•  Ri<.u(Ti-. 


394  The  French  Revolution 

a  contemporary,'  "rather  than  for  a  wretch  being 
led  by  the  minions  of  the  law  to  execution."  *'I 
have  merited  death  in  expiation  of  my  sins," 
d'Orleans  said  at  the  last;  "I  have  contributed  to 
the  death  of  an  innocent  man.  .  .  .  May  God 
unite  us  both  with  St.  Louis!" 

The  real  head  of  the  Girondists  remained — 
Madame  Roland.  She  had  been  their  guide  and 
counsellor  to  the  end  and  from  her  prison  to  theirs 
had  sent  letters  of  encouragement.  She  had  ex- 
pected to  be  called  as  a  witness  at  their  trial  and 
had  made  all  her  arrangements  for  ending  her 
career  with  as  much  eclat  as  possible.  She  had  asked 
a  friend  to  procure  her  "a  sufficient  quantity  of 
opium,"  telling  him  that  she  intended  to  "thunder 
without  reserve  and  then  end  it."  Her  friend  had 
refused  her  the  poison,  and  the  decision  of  the  court 
to  hear  no  evidence  for  the  defence  had  foiled  her 
plan  of  plain  speaking.  On  the  very  day  of  the  exe- 
cution of  the  Girondists  she  had  been  moved  from 
the  prison  of  St.  Pelagic  to  the  Conciergerie. 

Few  women  have  managed  to  stand  out  from 
their  surroundings  in  bolder  relief  than  Madame 
Roland.  Her  memoirs,  which  she  called  "an  ap- 
peal to  impartial  posterity,"  have  justly  become 
famous.  She  was  always  effective,  always  dra- 
matic, always  in  the  lead.  She  appeared  now  at  her 
trial  strikingly  dressed  in  white,  with  her  long  hair 
floating  behind  her,  but  was  not  allowed  to  read 
her  defence.  She  drew  up  her  own  account  of 
the  questions  that  were  asked  her  and  the  answers 

'  Beaulieu. 


Terror  395 

that  she  made.  She  was  condemned  to  die  to- 
gether with  a  forger,  and  together  they  ate  their 
last  meal.  Her  concierge's  daughter  relates  that 
Madame  Roland  tried  to  cheer  the  poor  dejected 
man,  that  she  made  fun  of  him,  telling  how  becom- 
ing it  was  to  him  to  have  the  hair  cut  away  from 
his  neck.  He  entered  the  death-cart  ahead  of  her; 
she  told  him  that  that  was  not  showing  proper 
politeness  to  a  lady.  We  have  a  last  glimpse  of 
her  from  the  pen  of  one  who  saw  the  cart  go  by. 
Fresh,  calm,  and  smiling,  the  indomitable  woman 
passed  on.  She  was  still  trying  to  inspire  with  a 
little  courage  the  wretched  man  at  her  side.  His 
pallor  and  dejection  were  in  striking  contrast  to 
her  brilliant  colouring  and  air  of  assurance.  Two 
contemporaries,  Riouffe  and  Des  Essarts,  vouch 
for  the  statement  that  on  her  arrival  at  the  Place 
de  la  Revolution  she  turned  to  the  statue  of 
Liberty  erected  for  the  celebration  on  August  loth 
and  cried:  "O  Liberty,  what  crimes  they  commit 
in  thy  name!"' 

Madame  Roland  had  once  remarked  that  were 
her  husband  to  be  guillotined,  she  would  perish 
at  the  foot  of  the  scaffold,  and  that  she  was  confi- 
dent that  he  in  turn  woukl  pierce  his  heart  when 
he  heard  oi  her  death.  Exactly  that  happened 
now;  there  was  no  delay.  In  the  park  of  a  chfileau 
about  twelve  miles  from  Rouen,  where  lie  liad 
found  refuge,  he  fell  on  the  point  of  his  sword-c-aiie, 
having  carefully  pinned  to  his  coat  a  note  that  has 

■  Ixird  Acton  disbelieves  the  anecdote,  l)ut  Perroud,  the  learned  editor 
of  the  memoirs,  sees  nn  reason  to  doubt  its  trutli. 


396  The  French  Revolution 

been  preserved^  and  that  is  as  full  of  dignity  as  of 
pathos.  No  one  doubts  its  genuineness.  He  asks 
that  respect  be  shown  to  his  remains  as  those  of  an 
honest  man,  foretells  an  awful  judgment  for 
France,  and  prays  that  his  country  may  one  day 
come  to  abhor  its  terrible  crimes.  On  the  back 
of  the  note  is  written:  "Not  fear  but  indignation. 
I  left  my  retreat  at  the  moment  of  hearing  that 
they  were  about  to  murder  my  wife ;  nor  do  I  care 
longer  to  remain  in  a  world  filled  with  crime." 

No  less  sad  than  the  fate  of  Roland  was  the  end 
of  those  Girondists  who  had  seen  their  hopes 
blasted  by  the  outcome  of  the  battle  in  Normandy 
and  had  found  their  way  to  Bordeaux.  Tracked 
and  hounded,  Barbaroux,  Guadet,  and  Salles  were 
at  last  found  hiding  in  a  cave  and  put  to  death. 
Rabaut  St.-Etienne  was  betrayed  by  a  friend. 
Two  bodies  discovered  in  a  field,  the  flesh  gnawed 
by  animals,  proved  to  be  Petion,  once  mayor  of 
Paris,  and  Buzot,  the  object  of  Madame  Roland's 
love. 

The  guillotine  was  to  continue  its  work  without 
cessation  now.  The  leaves  were  falling  early,  as 
Louis  XVI  had  said.  They  were  also  falling  thick 
and  fast. 

'  It  is  in  the  National  Archives  where  the  author  photographed  it. 


CHAPTER  XII 


IDOLATRY 


THE  last  and  most  daring  enterprise  of  the 
French  Revolution  remains  to  be  chronicled 
— the  storming  of  heaven.  It  was  a  logical 
outcome  of  the  overthrow  of  all  authority.  Al- 
ready in  their  complaints  to  the  States-General 
of  1789,  the  clergy  speak  of  the  growing  disre- 
gard of  the  Sabbath,  of  "the  frightful  progress 
of  incredulity,"  of  "the  audacity  with  which  im- 
piety attacks  even  the  Divinity  Himself."  They 
inveigh  against  an  "impious  and  audacious  sect 
that  desecrates  its  false  wisdom  with  the  name 
of  philosophy  and  seeks  to  overthrow  the  altars." 
This  was  literally  what  was  now  to  be  accom- 
plished; for  a  time  at  least  the  altars  in  France 
were  to  be  overthrown.  The  Christian  P>a 
was  to  be  abolished,  the  Sabbath  to  be  done 
away  with,  Christ  to  be  publicly  denied  by  hund- 
reds of  priests  and  bishops,  the  churches  to  be 
closed  or  handed  over  to  ceremonies  that  were 
purely  pagan. 

All  the  measures  that  tended  to  secularize  the 
clergy— the  confiscation  of  their  lands,  I  lie  segre- 
gation into  patriotic  and  unpatriotic  priests,  tlie 

.v;7 


398  The  French  Revolution 

persecution  of  the  refractory,  the  putting  down 
the  rebelHon  in  La  Vendee  which  was  headed 
largely  by  priests :  all  these  had  been  so  many  steps 
in  the  downward  progress.  The  encouragement  of 
sacerdotal  marriages  tended  to  throw  ridicule  on 
the  whole  old  church  system.  In  the  conception 
of  the  party  in  power  in  France,  God  now  merges 
into  a  sort  of  tutelary  deity  of  patriotism,  into 
Liberty,  then  into  Reason,  and  finally  into  the 
amorphous  Supreme  Being  of  Robespierre.  There 
is  no  phase  of  the  Revolution  more  absorbingly 
interesting  than  this. 

We  cannot  attempt  here  to  follow  the  progress 
of  irreligion  in  detail,  but  a  few  examples  will 
show  whither  men's  minds  were  tending. 

Already  in  December,  1792,  a  deputy  named 
Dupont  had  been  allowed  to  make  a  regular 
tirade  in  the  Convention  against  religion.  He 
asked  why  when  thrones  were  tottering,  scep- 
tres breaking,  kings  expiring,  the  altars  of  the 
gods  were  allowed  to  stand.  A  breath  of  Reason 
would  make  them  disappear :  ' '  Nature  and  Reason 
• — those  are  the  gods  of  a  man,  those  are  my  gods! " 
There  were  bursts  of  laughter  as  an  abhe,  in 
disgust,  left  the  room.  Dupont 's  open  declaration 
that  he  was  an  atheist  did,  however,  rouse  opposi- 
tion, but  many  cried:  "Never  mind,  you're  an 
honest  man!" 

Freedom  of  speech  was  bearing  strange  fruits. 
After  the  death  of  Marat,  his  heart  was  placed  in 
a  sort  of  shrine  in  the  garden  of  the  Luxembourg, 
and    an   orator   made   the   following    invocation: 


Idolatiy  399 

"O  heart  of  Jesus,  O  heart  of  Marat!  .  .  .  You 
have  an  equal  right  to  our  homage!"  Or  take 
this  extract  from  the  proceedings  of  the  Conven- 
tion about  six  weeks  later,  the  occasion  being 
a  deputation  that  demanded  compulsory  secular 
education:  "One  of  the  children  accompanying 
the  deputation  demands  that  instead  of  being 
preached  to  /;/  the  name  of  a  so-called  God  they 
be  instructed  in  the  principles  of  Equality  and  of 
the  Rights  of  Alan  and  the  Constitution." 

On  October  5th'  the  Convention  adopted  the 
Revolutionary  calendar  that  was  a  fiu-ther  step 
towards  paganism,  and  that  interests  us  here,  in 
addition,  because  of  the  many  symbols  employed. 
The  decree  states  that  the  new  era  is  to  date  from 
the  22d  of  September,  1792,  of  the  common  era, 
which  is  now  declared  abolished.  The  2 2d  was 
chosen  as  the  day  of  the  founding  of  the  republic 
and  at  the  same  time  the  day  on  which  the  sun 
arrived  at  the  true  autumnal  equinox — omen  that 
Liberty  would  soon  enlighten  both  halves  of  the 
sphere.  We  are  fortunate  enough  to  possess  one 
of  these  calendars,^  which,  being  perpetual,  did 
not  vary  from  year  to  year.  There  are  four  seasons 
as  before,  and  our  artist  has  given  us  pretty  little 
pictures  to  illustrate  them.  They  show  the 
progress  of  a  loving  pair.  In  autumn,  the  man  is 
on  horseback  hunting;  in  winter,  he  kneels  at  lur 
feet  and  avows  his  passion ;  in  spring,  the  maid  sits 

'  Aulard's  Revolution  Franqaise,  viii.,  747  gives  tlie  date  as  4th 
Frimairc,  which  woulfl  be  Nov.  25tli.  But  the  MS.  of  the  decree, 
which  I  photographi'd  in  the  Archives,  is  plainly  dated  Oct.  5th. 

» I'l.-itf  164,  p.  400. 


400 


Idolatry  401 

pensive  and  watches  the  flocks  and  the  birds, 
while  in  sirnimer  we  see  them  arrived  in  the  bridal 
chamber. 

Each  season  has  three  months  of  thirty  days 
each  and  each  month  has  a  name  significant  of  its 
season.  Take,  for  instance,  the  months:  Vende- 
miaire,  Bnimaire,  and  Friniairc:  they  are  the 
months  of  vintage,  of  mists,  and  of  frosts,  and  the 
common  ending  aire  shows  that  they  all  belong  to 
autumn.  Fabre  d' Eglantine,  one  of  the  com- 
mittee appointed  to  draw  up  the  calendar,  declares 
that  in  these  names  he  has  tried  to  "profit  by  the 
imitative  harmony  of  the  language."  Nivose, 
PI  livid  sc,  and  Ventose  are  the  sad -sounding  winter 
months ;  Germinal,  Floreal,  and  Prairial  have  to  do 
with  the  buds  of  spring,  w^hile  all  comes  to  its 
fruition  in  Messidor,  Thermidor  and  Friictidor. 
There  are  no  weeks  in  the  Revolutionarv  calendar 
and  one  gains  the  impression  that  one  of  its  chief 
aims  was  to  eliminate  Sunday.  Each  month  is 
divided  into  three  equal  parts  or  decades,  and  the 
days  are  known  by  number:  primidi,  diiodi,  tridi, 
continuing  up  to  decadi  which  is  to   be  a  holiday. 

One  main  idea  of  the  new  system  was  to  consecrate 
agriculture.  The  old  Saints'  calendar,  Fabre  tells 
us,  had  been  a  "repertory  of  lying,  duplicity,  and 
charlatanism";  but  this  "canonized  crowd"  is  now 
to  be  expelled.  The  names  are  to  be  replaced  by 
objects  of  rational  interest,  such  as  plants,  trees, 
fruits,  agricultural  implements,  and  domestic  ani- 
mals. These  are  objects,  writes  witty  Fabrt-,  if 
not  of  cult  at  least  of  ciiUivatiou,   anrl   f]nm(>stic 

j6 


402 


The  French  Revolution 


animals  should  be  "far  more  precious  in  the  sight 
of  Reason  than  beatified  skeletons  dragged  from 
the  catacombs  of  Rome." 


Plate  165      A  representation  of  Reason.     Note  the  Eye,  the  Jacobin  emblem. 

"In  the  sight  of  Reason."  Reason,  as  yet 
often  confounded  with  Liberty,  was  fast  becoming 
the  goddess  of  France.  We  have  a  representation 
of  her,'  showing  how  she  sits  on  the  crouching  lion 
of  French  courage  and  restrains  his  fierce  ardour. 

'  Plate  165,  above, 


Idolatry  403 

In  one  hand  is  the  torch  of  tnith  from  the  flame 
of  which  looks  out  the  bright  Jacobin  eye  of 
vigilance. 

So  the  cat,  the  horse,  the  plough,  the  grape,  the 
saffron,  the  chestnut,  were  to  replace  the  old  St. 
Johns,  St.  Georges,  and  St.  Peters,  and  especially 
the  St.  Louises,  though  it  is  not  clear  that  any 
serious  attempt  was  made  to  have  them  do  so. 
The  calendar  remained  in  actual  force  from  1793 
to  1806  and  has  since  served  to  make  life  bitter 
for  many  a  historian. 

If  there  were  to  be  twelve  equal  months  of 
thirty  days  each,  there  would  remain  five  addi- 
tional days,  and,  every  four  years,  a  sixth  one. 
Fabre's  disposal  of  these  shows  the  flowery 
spirit  of  the  Revolution.  These  days,  writes  Fabrc, 
were  first  entitled  epagomenal  days,  but  this  name 
he  finds  "mute  to  the  imagination,"  giving  to  the 
people  "but  a  cold  idea."  So  he  has  thought  of  a 
collective  name  expressive  both  of  the  joy  and  of 
the  wit  of  the  French  people.  He  would  call 
these  days  the  sans-cidottides,  declaring  that  even 
in  classic  times  the  region  around  rebellious  Lyons 
had  beeen  called  Gallia  bracata,  and  the  rest  of 
Gaul  must,  accordingly,  have  been  non-culottce. 
But  old  or  new  this  appellation  had  been  made 
illu.strious  by  Liberty  and  ought  to  be  solemnly 
consecrated. 

The  five  sans-cidollides  were  all  to  b(^  liolidays 
and  were  to  be  celebrated  in  a  manner  that  should 
be  emblematic  of  the  virtues  of  the  French .  Tliere 
was  to  be  a  day  for  Genius,  a  day  for  Labour,  a  day 


404  The  French  Revolution 

for  Actions,  a  day  for  Recompense,  and  a  day  for 
Opinion.  The  sixth  day,  recurring  every  four 
years,  is  to  be  known  as  the  Sans-ciilottide  par 
excellence  and  to  be  celebrated  by  national  games. 
In  the  programme  for  the  Fete  of  Opinion,  Fabre's 
fancy  has  a  chance  to  soar.  On  that  one  day  the 
French  people  may  make  to  its  officials  what 
personal  remarks  or  criticisms  it  pleases:  "The 
law  gives  full  sway  to  the  humorous  and  gay  im- 
agination of  the  French  .  .  .  and  we  venture  to 
say  that  this  one  fete  day  will  better  restrain  the 
magistrates  within  the  bounds  of  duty  throughout 
the  year  than  even  Draconian  laws  or  all  the  tri- 
bunals of  France." 

It  was  very  shortly  after  the  issue  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary calendar  that  Christ  was  formally  and 
publicly  denied — ^first  in  the  region  around  Corbeil 
where  there  were  public  abjurations  of  faith,  then 
within  the  very  precincts  of  the  National  Conven- 
tion. In  the  session  of  Novemiber  7th,  an  abbe 
designated  himself  as  "priest,  curate,  and,  there- 
fore, charlatan"  and  received  honourable  mention. 
The  Archbishop  of  Paris,  Gobel,  renounced  super- 
stition, as  he  called  it,  and  declared  that  Liberty 
and  "holy  Equality  "  should  henceforth  be  his  gods. 
He  laid  down  his  ring  and  crozier  and  took  up  a 
cap  of  Liberty.  Others  followed  suit.  The  Com- 
mune of  Paris  opened  a  regular  bureau  for  abjura- 
tions and  sent  the  Pope  a  copy  of  its  decrees  "to 
cure  him  of  his  errors."  It  announced  a  fete  in 
Notre  Dame,  at  which  hymns  would  be  sung  to  a 
statue  of  Liberty  "erected  in  place  of  the  ci-devant 


Idolatry  405 

Holy  Virgin."  The  cathedral  was  transformed  for 
the  occasion,  a  mountain  being  erected  with  a 
Greek  temple  on  the  summit,  wherein  was  an 
altar  on  which  burned  the  torch  of  Truth.  White- 
clad  maidens  with  tri-coloured  scarfs  ascended 
the  mountain  and  bowed  before  the  altar.  Reason, 
clad  in  a  white  skirt,  blue  mantle,  and  red  cap, 
then  came  forth  from  the  temple,  and  sitting  on  a 
bank  of  verdure,  received  the  homage  of  the  repub- 
licans. A  hymn  was  sung  in  her  praise  and  then 
she  disappeared  within  the  temple,  turning  however 
"to  cast  one  more  beneficent  glance  upon  her 
friends." 

We  are  at  the  heyday  of  what  is  known  as 
Hebertism,  for  Hubert's  Pere  Diichcne  was  the 
foremost  advocate  of  this  worship  of  reason, 
though  Chaumette  was  the  most  active  worker 
in  the  cause.  One  is  astonished  to  find  so  well 
known  an  artist  as  Bartolozzi  lending  his  aid  to 
the  propaganda,  though  he  doubtless  was  well 
rewarded  for  it.  We  have  a  charming  drawing' 
of  Love  and  Reason  embracing,  while  beneath 
is  the  text  in  verse: 

Peoples,  can  you  look  with  indiflercnce  on  Love,  lon},'l)Iincl 
but  to-day  without  a  handaj^e;  on  Reason,  sublime, 
borrowing  the  torch  in  order  to  change  throuj^h  its  beams 
the  destinies  of  France?  Do  thou.  Love  of  Country,  and 
thou,  saj^e  Reason,  set  aflame  the  horizon  of  this  vast 
universe!  Sjirin^  up  in  all  hearts;  your  holy  alliance  is  the 
firmest  hope  of  good  citizens.  Show  us  the  virtues  as  well 
as  Liberty  hovcrinj^  over  the  ruins  of  overturned  thrones! 

•  PlaU;  166,  p.  407. 


4o6  The  French  Revolution 

And  thou,  God  of  the  humans,  Supreme  Intelligence, 
make  the  French  the  avengers  of  debased  mortals.  And 
everywhere  the  shield  with  the  three  colours  shall  be  the 
happy  emblem  of  omnipotence. 

It  is  an  everlasting  blot  on  the  National  Con- 
vention that  it  submitted  to  be  a  participator  in 
all  this  anti-Christian  mummery,  that  it  allowed 
itself  to  be  swayed  by  such  evanescent  passions. 
The  legislators  were  not  directing  public  opinion 
or  making  laws  according  to  their  own  consciences. 
But  what  could  one  expect  of  an  Assembly  that 
had  allowed  seventy-five  of  its  members  to  be 
imprisoned  for  merely  signing  a  protest !  It  was 
no  longer  representative  of  anything  but  tyranny. 
We  shall  soon  see  its  factions  devouring  each  other. 

The  Assembly-hall  in  the  Tuileries  was  now 
treated  to  much  the  same  scenes  as  had  taken 
place  in  Notre  Dame.  Reason  was  borne  in  on 
a  sort  of  throne  to  the  sound  of  drums  and  music, 
and  around  her  were  maidens  with  garlands  of 
roses.  There  were  cries  of  "Long  live  Reason!" 
"Down  with  Fanaticism"  [in  other  words  Christi- 
anity!] Chaumette  then  told  how  Fanaticism's 
squinting  eyes  could  no  longer  bear  the  hght,  how 
the  Gothic  vaults  of  Notre  Dame  had  now  for 
the  first  time  heard  the  truth,  how  dead  idols  had 
made  place  for  an  animated  image — chef-d'ceuvre 
of  nature — and  he  pointed  to  the  young  goddess 
who  is  described  as  young  and  infinitely  pretty. 
Incredible  as  it  may  sound,  he  asked  and  obtained 
a  decree  of  the  Convention  henceforth  consecrat- 
ing the  world-famous  cathedral  to  the  worship  of 


\ 


I 

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/ 

^>- 

-.^' 

:  ■ 

1 

Plate  1 66.     A  representation  of  Love  and  Reason  enibracinK.     Hy 

Bartolozzi 


407 


4o8  The  French  Revolution 

Reason.  ' '  Amid  a  thousand  bravos ' '  the  president 
of  the  Convention  gave  the  goddess  a  fraternal 
kiss,  whereupon  his  secretaries  asked  and  obtained 
the  same  privilege.  The  Convention  in  a  body- 
then  repaired  to  Reason's  new  temple,  although  a 
number  of  the  deputies  silently  escaped.  "Ah, 
what  a  fine  fete  we  had  last  decadi!''  writes  the 
Pere  Duchene.  "...  How  angry  the  good  God 
must  be!  No  doubt  the  last  trump  is  about  to 
sound." 

There  were  similar  celebrations  in  various  places. 
At  Rochefort,  the  orator  of  the  day  began  his 
speech  with  "No,  citizens,  there  is  no  future  life!" 
At  Nantes,  the  American  consul  played  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  celebration,  holding  one  end  of  a 
tri-coloured  ribbon  of  which  the  infamous  Carrier, 
whose  specialty  was  drowning  his  victims  in 
great  batches,  held  the  other. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Convention 
supervised  the  government  of  France  at  this  time 
by  means  of  its  representatives  on  mission,  who 
were  given  almost  dictatorial  powers.  Some  out- 
did even  the  Parisian  iconoclasts  in  their  attacks  on 
religion.  One  representative  forced  priests  of 
Abbeville  (department  of  the  Somme)  to  mount 
the  pulpit  and  confess  that  they  were  merely 
harlequins  who  played  monkey  tricks  in  order 
to  cheat  the  people  of  their  money.  He,  the 
representative,  was  then  acclaimed  with  cries  of 
' '  Long  live  the  Convention ! ' '  and  ' '  We  are  saved ! ' ' 
At  Amiens  it  was  decreed  that  priests  who  ven- 
tured to  celebrate  mass  should  be  handed  over  to 


Idolatry  409 

the  Revolutionary  Tribunal.'  At  Nevers,  Chau- 
mette  and  Fouche  paid  religious  honours  to  the 
bust  of  Brutus,  and  Fouche  ordered  every  priest 
either  to  marry,  adopt  a  child,  or  nourish  an 
indigent  old  man.  It  was  Fouche,  too,  who 
ordered  all  outward  signs  of  religion,  even  figures 
on  tombstones,  to  be  suppressed  or  replaced  by 
effigies  of  sleep.  He  wished  ntiptials  celebrated 
in  a  temple  of  love,  and  he  officiated  at  a  fete 
before  an  altar  to  Vesta  on  which  was  burning  a 
sacred  flame. 

It  was  real  iconoclasm,  the  iconoclasm  of  the 
eighth  century.  The  images  of  the  patron  saints 
were  replaced  by  those  of  Brutus,  Lepelletier,  and 
]\Iarat,  and  at  the  same  time  we  find  the  spoils 
of  the  churches  actually  brought  into  the  hall  of 
the  Convention  and  paraded  before  the  members. 
In  a  single  day,  November  13th,  a  dozen  litter- 
loads  of  candelabra,  chalices,  gilded  busts  of 
bishops  and  monks  and  other  church  treasure 
were  dumped  upon  the  floor  amid  loud  cries  of 
"Long  live  the  republic!"  Again,  among  other 
objects,  a  deputation  from  St.  Denis  bore  the  head 
of  that  famous  saint  and  apostrophized  it  as  a 
"stinking  relic."  The  department  of  the  Nievre 
sent  spoils  in  silverware  and  in  money  to  the  value 
of  nearly  three  million  francs. 

Chaumctte  reported  in  the  Jacobin  Club  on  No- 
vember 1 8th  that  a  fete  had  been  celebrated  in  Lyons 
in  honour  of  Chalier — a  fete  where  "Fanaticism" 
had  been  struck  to  earth  and  where  the  chief  actor 

'  Aulard,  Cultc  dc  la  Raison,  pp.  24  (T. 


410  The  French  Revolution 

had  been  ' '  an  ass  decorated  with  all  the  pontifical 
trappings  and  bearing  a  mitre  on  its  head."  Four 
days  later  took  place  one  of  the  great  masquerades 
in  the  Convention  and  a  deputation  swore  with 
raised  hands  to  have  no  other  cult  than  that  of 
Reason,  Liberty,  Equality,  and  the  Republic. 
The  president,  Laloi,  replied  to  this  deputation: 
'Tn  one  single  instant  you  make  vanish  into 
nothingness  eighteen  centuries  of  errors." 

We  still  have  the  official  account  in  the  Moniteur 
of  one  of  the  wildest  of  the  iconoclastic  orgies 
countenanced  by  the  Convention. 

The  section  of  Gravilliers  is  admitted.  At  its  head 
marches  a  troop  of  men  clad  in  sacerdotal  and  pontifical 
robes.  The  music  plays  the  Carmagnole  and  Malhrough 
s'en  va-t-en  guerre.  Banners  and  crosses  are  borne  aloft. 
Ah,  le  bel  oiseau!  is  played  as  the  dais  enters.  Simultane- 
ously all  the  citizens  of  the  section  disrobe,  and  from  under 
the  bedizenments  of  fanaticism  one  sees  defenders  of  their 
country  issue  forth  clothed  in  the  national  uniform.  Each 
casts  away  his  discarded  vestments  and  the  air  is  full  of 
stoles,    mitres,    chasubles,    and   dalmatics. 

A  child  then  read  a  discourse  doing  homage  to 
Reason. 

The  culmination  of  Hebertism  was  the  decree 
passed  by  the  Commune  that  all  the  churches  of 
Paris  be  closed  and  all  priests  be  excluded  from 
public  functions  and  employments,  which  latter 
measure  was  rescinded  two  days  later.  Hebert 
also  obtained  a  vote  that  all  the  church  steeples 
in  Paris  be  levelled  and  all  statues  of  saints  be 


Idolatry  411 

demolished;   but   his   influence   was   not   of   long 
duration  and  the  measure  was  not  carried  out. 

For  this  we  have  to  thank  Robespierre.  Like 
many  popular  leaders,  he  was  as  hostile  to  those 
who  went  beyond  him  as  to  those  who  failed  to 
come  up  to  his  personal  standard.  He  could  not 
recognize  any  righteousness  but  that  which  con- 
sisted in  following  his  admonishments.  "Timid 
goodness"  was  as  abhorrent  to  him  as  open  crime. 
He  considered  the  ordinary  practices  of  the  church 
fanaticism,  indeed,  but  now  thundered  away  in 
the  Jacobin  Club  against  "the  pompous  and 
exaggerated  zeal"  with  which  they  were  being 
attacked.  He  accused  Hebert  and  his  followers 
of  "usurping  a  false  popularity"  and  of  "attaching 
the  bells  of  folly  to  the  very  sceptre  of  philosophy." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Robespierre  had  his  own 
little  religion  all  ready  to  impose.  It  was  radical 
enough,  too.  He  believed  in  a  Divinity  and  de- 
clared that  did  God  not  exist  one  would  have  to 
invent  him.  But  his  Supreme  Being  was  a  mere 
personification  of  the  attributes  that  he,  Robes- 
pierre, admired — a  defender  of  the  free  institutions 
of  the  French,  a  death-dealer  to  tyrants. 

In  the  face  of  Robespierre's  attacks  the  Hebert- 
ists  were  driven  from  one  intrenchment  to  another. 
On  November  28th,  the  decree  closing  all  the 
churches  was  rescinded,  and  it  was  voted  that  the 
Council  of  the  Commune  should  listen  to  no  more 
discussions  regarding  religious  or  metaphysical 
ideas.  The  worship  of  Reason  was  soon  dead  in 
Paris  though  il  ])ersisted  surprisingly  long  in  the 


412  The  French  Revolution 

provinces.  The  Convention,  on  December  5th, 
declared  that  "the  French  nation  and  its  repre- 
sentatives respect  the  liberty  of  all  forms  of  worship 
and  proscribe  none." 

We  shall  soon  see  what  were  the  consequences 
to  Hebert  of  incurring  Robespierre's  enmity. 
The  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  of  which  the 
latter  was  the  leading  spirit,  was  daily  becoming 
more  terrible.  No  former  services  in  the  cause  of 
the  Revolution  were  allowed  to  count.  Gentle  old 
Bailly,  the  hero  of  the  Tennis  Court  oath  and  once 
Mayor  of  Paris,  was  executed  for  having  pro- 
claimed martial  law  against  the  sovereign  people 
at  the  time  of  the  petition  of  the  Champ  de 
Mars  (July  17,  1791).  The  guillotine  was  set  up 
on  the  scene  of  the  crime,  and  the  red  flag  Bailly 
had  used  was  ignited  and  thrust  in  his  face, 
causing  him  acute  pain.  His  death  was  quickly 
followed  by  that  of  a  long  succession  of  ministers, 
deputies,  generals  (Luckner  among  them),  magis- 
trates, merchants,  and  artisans.  There  were  a 
number  of  women,  too,  ranging  in  character  from 
the  infamous  Madame  du  Barry,  who  unlike  most 
of  those  of  the  real  aristocracy  died  hard  and  uttered 
shrieks  of  despair,  to  innocent  Carmelite  nuns. 

Robespierre's  theory  was  that  republics  are 
founded  on  repression  of  crime  as  well  as  on 
virtues,  that  the  land  on  which  Liberty  shines 
must  see  all  monsters  thrust  back  into  the  shadow, 
that  the  guilty  must  roll  in  the  dust  and  be 
trampled  under  foot.  And  if  one  is  to  punish  one 
must  punish  promptly,  purging  one's  soul  of  all 


Idolatry  413 

feebleness.  One's  ami  must  be  brazen  and,  like 
Bnitus,  one  must  be  willing  to  sacrifice,  if  need  be, 
children,  brothers,  friends.  As  Collot-d'Herbois 
expressed  it,  if  patriotism  drop  from  its  height  for 
an  instant  it  is  no  longer  patriotism.  "Let 
Europe  know,"  cried  St. -Just,  Robespierre's  truest 
disciple,  "that  you  mean  to  leave  not  one  unhappy- 
man  nor  one  oppressor  on  French  soil ! ' ' 

In  February,  the  Hebertists  endeavoured  to 
have  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  dissolved; 
Robespierre  denounced  them  in  the  Jacobin  Club 
in  his  most  scathing  manner  as  "these  patriots  of 
yesterday  who  try  to  scale  the  Mountain  and  expel 
the  veterans  of  the  Revolution!"  Yet  he  is  quite 
as  severe  against  the  so-called  "moderates"  of 
whom  Danton,  strange  to  say,  was  the  chief  repre- 
sentative. The  one,  he  declared,  would  transport 
you  into  the  torrid,  the  other  into  the  frigid  zone; 
the  one  would  make  of  Liberty  a  Bacchante,  the 
other  a  common  prostitute. 

Robespierre's  egotism  as  regards  political  tenets 
is  simply  astounding.  He  and  he  alone  knows 
what  is  right  and  all  others  are  enemies  of  the 
republic,  not  fit  to  cumber  its  soil.  Yet  the  dis- 
tinctions are  often  too  fine  for  us  to  recognize. 
He  is  almost  infantile  when  he  seeks  to  expose 
the  hidden  motives  of  his  enemies,  and  here  he 
includes  both  Dantonists  and  Hebertists.  Their 
zeal  and  their  laxness  are  alike  suspicious  to  liim: 
"they  oppose  energetic  measures,  Init,  when  un- 
able to  prevent  them,  carry  these  same  measures 
to  extremes;"  "they  will  tell  the  truth  just  enough 


414  The  French  Revolution 

to  be  able  to  lie  with  impunity;"  "they  are  aflame 
for  great  resolutions  that  mean  nothing  and  more 
than  indifferent  to  those  that  can  further  the  cause 
of  the  people." 

The  conclusion  of  one  of  his  great  speeches 
against  these  enemies'  is  full  of  naive  self -betrayal : 
''In  their  perfidious  hands  the  remedies  for  our 
evils  become  so  many  poisons.  All  you  can  do, 
all  you  can  say,  they  turn  against  you — even  the 
truths  we  have  just  been  expounding!'"  A  terrible 
and  dangerous  man  this  Robespierre,  because  of 
his  absolute  faith  in  himself! 

The  Hebertists  had  never  been  noted  for  modera- 
tion of  language  and  they  used  expressions  against 
the  Dantonists  which  gave  Robespierre  the  handle 
he  desired.  Hebert  and  his  adherents,  in  speeches 
at  the  Cordelier  Club,  glorified  insurrection — 
' '  holy  instirrection ' '  one  of  them  called  it.  Further 
than  such  incendiary  talk  they  do  not  seem  to 
have  gone.  But,  on  March  13th,  St. -Just  read  a 
report ' '  concerning  conspiracies  against  the  French 
people  and  Liberty,"  and  that  night  Hebert  and 
nineteen  of  his  followers, — one,  Ronsin,  was 
commander  of  the  "revolutionary  army" — ^were 
placed  under  arrest.  The  conspiracy  was  painted 
in  the  blackest  colours  imaginable  and  popular 
opinion  became  bitterly  hostile  to  the  men  who 
had  been  idols  the  week  before.  "My  God,  who 
would  ever  have  thought  it!"  a  woman  was  heard 
to  exclaim.  People  looked  forward  to  the  execution 
as  to  a  fete. 

'  Hamel,  iii.,  390. 


Idolatry  415 

Rumour  supplied  all  the  necessary  evidence  and 
distorted  remarks  and  disjointed  passages  from 
Pere  Diicheue  were  the  weapons  that  destroyed 
the  Hebertists.  Had  not  Ronsin  declared  that  he 
wished  he  were  Cromwell  for  twenty-four  hours? 
Had  not  Dessieux  said  that  "morals  amount  to 
nothing"?  The  trial  lasted  three  days;  on  the 
fourth,  the  jury  pronounced  its  conscience  satisfied, 
although  the  counsel  for  the  defence  had  not  been 
heard.  One  prisoner  was  acquitted;  he  had  been 
merely  a  decoy-duck  sent  to  spy  on  the  others. 
A  woman  was  spared  for  the  moment  because  she 
declared  herself  enceinte.  The  rest  were  executed 
within  twenty-four  hours,  and  when  it  came 
Hebert's  turn,  caps  were  swung  in  the  air  and  there 
were  prolonged  shouts  of  ' '  Long  live  the  republic ! ' ' 

On  the  very  day  of  Hebert's  execution,  Robes- 
pierre yielded,  we  are  told,  to  the  instances  of  St.- 
Just  and  Billaud-Varcnnes,  and  the  Committee 
of  Public  Safety  decreed  the  arrest  of  Danton  and 
all  the  chief  men  of  his  party.  The  blow  was  so 
heavy  that  the  recoil  almost  overthrew  Robespierre. 
This  Danton  had  once  been  his  friend;  together 
they  had  risen  to  eminence.  But  Danton  now 
stood  in  his  way.  He  was  too  moderate,  too 
much  inclined  to  conciliation.  Although  he  had 
served  his  country  well  his  policy  was  different. 
At  the  news  of  his  arrest  by  Robespierre  there 
were  cries  in  the  Convention  of  "Down  witli  the 
dictator!"  I^gendre,  declaring  that  Danton  was 
as  pure  as  himself,  demanded  a  hearing  for  the 
accused;  but  Robespierre's  threatening  eloquence 


4i6  The  French  Revolution 

reduced  him  to  such  a  state  that  he  stammered 
forth  excuses.  Danton  was  a  rotten  idol  which 
must  not,  in  falhng,  be  allowed  to  crush  the  Con- 
vention, though  he,  Robespierre,  for  his  part, 
was  ready  to  die.  Danton  and  his  partisans  had 
followed  Liberty,  St. -Just  declared,  merely  as  a 
tiger  follows  its  prey.  In  reality  they  were  royal- 
ists. St. -Just,  too,  offered  to  die  in  defence  of 
the  truth ;  the  friendly  tomb  would  hide  him  from 
the  shame  of  seeing  the  wicked  triumph. 

We  must  hasten  over  the  trial  of  the  Dantonists, 
mentioning  merely  enough  to  enable  the  reader  to 
appreciate  the  symbolism  of  Robespierre's  final 
great  fete  to  the  Supreme  Being  that  had  delivered 
France  of  its  enemies.  Never  were  men  prouder  in 
the  presence  of  a  tribunal.  "Your  age?"  Camille 
Desmoulins  was  asked.  "  That  of  the  sans-culotte 
Jesus,  thirty-three  years."  "Your  name  and 
dwelling-place?"  they  said  to  Danton.  "One  will 
soon  be  in  the  Pantheon,  the  other  in  space!" 
The  passionate  replies  to  every  question  drove 
Fouquier-Tinville  to  desperation;  he  complained 
of  "these  accused  who,  like  bandits,  clamour  to 
have  v/itnesses  heard  in  their  defence."  We  still 
have  the  letter  that  he  wrote  to  the  Convention 
from  the  courtroom.  "A  horrible  storm,"  it 
began,  "has  been  raging  ever  since  the  session 
opened." 

In  discussing  this  letter,  St. -Just  cried:  "What 
innocent  man  ever  revolted  against  the  law?" 
and  the  Convention  decreed:  "Any  one  who 
resists  or  insults  national  justice  shall  instantly 


Idolatry 


417 


be  deprived  of  the  right  to  debate!"  The  Dan- 
tonists,  accordingly,  were  led  away  while  sentence 
was  passed  in  their  absence.  Eighteen  were 
condemned  and  executed.  As  Danton  stood  at 
the  foot  of  the  scaffold,  he  spoke  tenderly  of  his 


-i5^^"tr^  — • 


Plate  167.     A  production  representing  Robespierre  as  the  sun  rising  above  the 

mountain  and  giving  light  to  the  universe.      There  is  a  text  in  the  original 

which  is  omitted  here  as  it  could  not  be  brought  within  compass.     It  reads: 

Notre  montagne,  enfin,  est  couverte  de  gloire; 
L'intrigue  est  renvers^e;  et  la  saine  raison, 
Sous  le  glaive  des  lois  livrant  la  trahison, 
Nous  rend  libre  a  jamais  le  champ  de  la  victoire. 

A  Paris  chez  la  C'enne  Bergny  Mde.  d'Estampes,  rue  du  Coq  Si.  Honorc,  No.  ijj. 

young  wife,   then  straightened    himself    up   with 
"  Danton,  no  weakness!" 

We  have  a  most  curious  production'  that  must 
have  been  issued  at  this  juncture.  The  text 
ai)i)lies  well  to  the  fall  of  the  Dantoni.sts:  "Our 
Mountain  at  last  is  covered  with  glory;  intrigue 
is  overthrown  and  sane  Reason  delivering  treason 
to  the  sword  of  the  law  frees  for  us  forever  the 
field  of  victory."     Robespierre's  head,  rising  like 

«  Plate  167.  alx)ve. 

37 


41 8  The  French  Revolution 

the  sun  over  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  with  the 
inscription,  "I  hght  up  the  whole  universe,"  would 
seem  to  be  an  allusion  to  his  new  religion.  It  is 
more  than  probable  that  the  whole  was  meant 
seriously  and  not  sarcastically. 

In  order  properly  to  introduce  this  new  religion, 
Robespierre  had,  in  May,  1794,  procured  from  the 
Convention  a  decree  recognizing  not  only  the  Su- 
preme Being  but  also  the  immortality  of  the  soul 
and  announcing  a  great  Fete.  His  report  at  the 
time  had  been  ordered  to  be  translated  into  every 
known  tongue.  A  zealous  commissioner  of  pub- 
lic instruction  had  proposed  to  banish  all  who 
did  not  believe  in  the  divinity;  but  this  Robes- 
pierre himself  could  not  conscientiously  advocate. 
But  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  decreed  that 
on  every  church  should  be  placed  the  inscription : 
"  The  French  people  recognizes  the  Supreme 
Being  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul."  There 
are  churches  to-day  on  which  these  words,  graven 
in  the  stone,  still  stand. 

An  attempt  to  murder  Robespierre,  or  rather 
a  harmless  incident  exploited  as  such,  gave  him 
at  this  juncture  the  martyr-halo  that  he  had  long 
desired.  The  Moniteur  declares  that  when,  after 
his  escape,  he  entered  the  Jacobin  Club,  "all 
hearts  bounded  in  unison."  He  was  chosen 
president  of  the  National  Convention.  In  an 
address  at  the  Jacobin  Club  he  swore  ' '  by  the  dag- 
gers red  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  the  Revolu- 
tion and  recently  pointed  against  us  "to  exterminate 
to  the  last  rascal  those  who  attacked  Liberty. 


Idolatry  419 

David  had  charge  of  the  projected  Fete  to  the 
Supreme  Being,  just  as  he  had  had  charge  of 
the  fete  of  the  year  before.  Would  he  rise  to  the 
task?  This  was  to  be  the  final  consecration  of  the 
whole  work  of  the  Revolution.  Some  repetition 
was  imavoidable,  but,  on  the  whole,  David  was 
equal  to  the  occasion.  AVe  need  not  dwell  on  the 
homage  to  the  rising  sun,  on  the  fluttering  em- 
blems, the  flowers  and  branches  of  trees.  Each 
deputy  wore  a  tri-coloured  scarf  and  a  hat  with 
red,  white,  and  blue  plumes;  each  carried  in  his 
hand,  too,  a  huge  bouquet  of  flowers,  fruits,  and 
wheat-sheaves.  All  classes  of  the  population  were 
pressed  into  the  service:  the  aged,  whose  eyes — 
so  David  had  arranged  it  at  least — were  wet  with 
tears  of  joy;  the  chaste  spouses  twining  the  floating 
hair  of  their  daughters — yes,  even  the  very  infants 
at  the  breast  had  their  role  assigned  them. 

There  was  a  huge  car  drawn  by  eight  white 
bullocks  with  garlands  around  their  horns.  ( )n 
this  car  sat  Liberty  under  the  shadow  of  a  good- 
sized  tree,  and  behind  her  was  every  known 
implement  and  emblem  of  agriculture. 

The  Convention  assembled  at  the  Tuileries, 
while  an  orchestra  discoursed  slow  music  and  an 
immense  crowd  of  spectators  gathered.  Robes- 
pierre, from  an  elevation,  delivered  the  great 
speech  of  his  life:  "It  has  come  at  last  the  day 
forever  blessed  which  the  French  people  con- 
secrates to  the  Supreme  Being."  He  goes  on  to 
tell  how  tyranny,  crime,  and  imj)f)sture  have 
hitherto  rcigncfl    in    tlic   world    but    hnw   imw   the 


420  The  French  Revolution 

immortal  hand  of  the  Supreme  Being  has  graven 
in  the  hearts  of  men  the  death-sentence  of  despots. 
No  longer  shall  kings  prey  upon  the  human  species ; 
no  longer  shall  priests  practice  pride,  perfidy, 
avarice,  and  debauchery.  The  Supreme  Being 
adorns  with  modesty  the  brow  of  beauty,  makes 
the  mother's  heart  thrill  with  tenderness,  fills  the 
son's  eyes  with  delicious  tears  as  he  falls  on  that 
mother's  bosom,  unites  all  mortals  with  a  great 
chain  of  love  and  fidelity.  Perish  the  tyrant  who 
dares  to  break  it ! 

Pausing  in  his  harangue,  Robespierre,  at  the 
head  of  the  Convention,  advanced  to  a  sort  of 
amphitheatre  in  the  garden  where,  after  addressing 
the  crowd  once  more,  he  applied  a  lighted  torch 
to  a  group  of  wooden  statues  representing  atheism, 
ambition,  discord,  etc.  As  the  wood  burned  away 
it  disclosed  one  single  statue — wisdom;  and 
Robespierre  cried  exultingly: 

It  has  vanished  into  space,  the  monster  that  the  genius 
of  kings  once  vomited  against  France — may  there  go  with  it 
all  the  crime  and  all  the  misery  of  the  world!  .  .  .  Being 
of  beings,  author  of  nature,  the  vile  pander  of  despotism, 
the  cruel  and  perfidious  aristocrat  outrages  thee  by  invok- 
ing thee,  but  the  defenders  of  Liberty  can  confidcntly 
throw  themselves  on  thy  paternal  breast ! 

From  which  we  learn  that  the  Supreme  Being  is  a 
male. 

From  the  Tuileries  the  great  procession,  the  car 
in  its  midst,  marched  to  the  Champ  de  Mars. 
A  tri-coloured  ribbon,  held  by  groups  representing 
infancy,  youth,  manhood,  and  old  age,  separated 


Idolatrv^  421 

the  Convention  from  the  crowd.  Robespierre 
wore  a  sky-blue  coat,  trousers  of  nankeen,  and  white 
stockings,  and  walked  alone  and  in  the  lead. 

Now  came  the  last  and  greatest  flight  of  David's 
imagination.  Mountains  we  have  had  before  in 
celebrations,  but  never  one  like  this.  Fortunate 
we  are  to  have  a  graphic  illustration  of  it '  to  aid 
us  in  understanding  the  descriptions.  The  new 
mountain  covered  the  altar  of  the  fatherland — 
did  it  possibly  occur  to  David  that  the  Mountain 
Party  actually  had  taken  the  place  of  the  nation? — • 
and  was  of  huge  dimensions,  culminating  in  a 
great  tree  of  Liberty.  There  were  other  trees,  too, 
and  grottoes,  and  arches,  and  winding  paths,  and 
there  must  have  been  room  on  its  surface  for  many 
hundreds  of  people.  Incense  rose  in  clouds  from 
enormous  braziers,  while  flags  and  banners  waved 
and  trophies  were  brandished. 

Could  symbolism,  could  idolatry  go  farther? 
It  was  an  apotheosis,  a  transfiguration.  And  all 
was  action,  all  movement.  While  Liberty's  great 
car  drew  up  to  one  side,  the  deputies,  gay  with 
their  tri-coloured  plumes  and  their  huge  bouquets 
—one  can  see  even  the  latter  in  the  picture — - 
formed  in  a  double  line  and  slowly  climbed  I  lie 
mountain — up  to  the  very  summit.  Beneath 
them,  groups  of  men  and  maidens  had  taken  the  ir 
places,  each  group  with  its  appointed  task  of 
glorification  to  perform.  The  maidens  threw 
flowers  high  in  the  air;  the  youths  drew  their 
swords  and   vowed   with   loud   voices  to  con(|ui'r 

'  Plate  168,  ]).  422. 


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1-1      oj 


00 

OJ 

a 

K 


422 


Idokitry  423 

the  enemy  or  die;  while  the  old  men  placed  their 
hands  on  the  heads  of  the  3^ouths  and  gave  them  the 
paternal  benediction.  Then  cannon  crashed  re- 
peatedly to  signify  vengeance  on  the  hated  foe,  and 
the  day  ended  with  a  rapturous  clasping  of  all  by 
all  in  embraces  of  fraternity. 

The  Fete  to  the  Supreme  Being  was  over. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


REACTION 


EVEN  as  he  walked  at  the  head  of  the  proces- 
sion in  the  Fete  to  the  Supreme  Being,  Robes- 
pierre had  heard  ominous  mutterings  and 
sarcastic  comments — allusions  to  his  ambition,  to 
his  kingly  aspirations,  and  to  the  Tarpeian  rock. 
He  noted  the  names  of  these  detractors  for  future 
use — the  notes  were  later  found  among  his  papers. 
At  the  Jacobin  Club  on  July  ist,  he  speaks  of  calum- 
nies that  have  been  uttered  "you  would  shudder 
were  I  to  tell  you  where!'' 

The  increased  severity  of  the  Revolutionary  Tri- 
bunal undermined  even  Robespierre's  popularity. 
A  commission  at  Orange  prepared  to  try  some 
twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  persons — too  many  to 
send  to  Paris,  writes  the  Convention's  emissary. 
At  the  same  time,  the  so-called  laws  of  Prairial  made 
many  deputies  fear  for  their  own  safety.  In  Paris 
alone,  the  daily  executions  averaged  twenty-eight 
for  seven  successive  weeks,  and  the  guillotine  had 
to  be  moved  because  the  continual  passing  of  death- 
carts  along  the  Rue  St.  Honore  injured  business. 
There  would  be  batches  of  forty  and  sixty  persons 

at  a  time.     And  there  was  no  longer  even  a  shadow 

424 


Reaction  425 

of  justice  in  the  trials  cu  )>i(issc,  where  the  judges 
had  the  sentences  already  signed,  with  room  left  to 
fill  in  the  names,  while  the  death-carts  stood  wait- 
ing at  the  door.  People  who  had  never  even  seen 
each  other  were  executed  as  fellow-conspirators. 

By  these  new  laws  death  was  to  be  the  immediate 
penalty  for  such  vague  crimes  as  spreading  false 
news  or  "trying  to  mar  the  purity  of  republican 
principles."  Anything  was  to  be  admitted  by 
way  of  proof  that  would  convince  "a  just  and 
reasonable  mind."  As  if,  any  such  were  still  to 
be  found  among  these  advocates  of  Liberty  gone 
mad!  Xo  legal  forms  were  any  longer  to  be 
observed.  There  were  no  longer  to  be  judges  or 
juries,  but  merely  commissioners,  who  were  to 
proceed  from  prison  to  prison  and  dispose  of  the 
cases  of  all  the  inmates.  "The  only  delay  needed 
when  punishing  the  country's  enemies,"  declared 
Couthon,  "is  time  to  recognize  them."  He  be- 
lieved that  it  was  a  question  of  "  exterminating  the 
implacaVjle  satellites  of  tyranny"  or  of  perishing  with 
the  republic.  Robespierre  exerted  his  whole  in- 
fluence in  favour  of  these  drastic  laws,  maintain- 
ing that  there  was  not  a  single  paragraph  in  them 
but  what  was  founded  on  justice  and  on  reason,  and 
that  true  lovers  of  their  country  would  welcome 
with  transports  the  means  of  striking  its  enemies. 
He  kept  harj^ing  on  all  the  good  the  government 
had  done  by  killing  traitors,  and  if  he  wished  to 
ruin  any  one  he  referred  to  him  as  an  all\'  of 
Danton.  In  the  C\)nvention  lie  spoke  like  a 
Christian  martvr  and   was  doubtless   as    sincere: 


426  The  French  Revolution 

"Give  us  strength  to  bear  the  immense,  the 
almost  superhuman  burden  you  have  imposed 
upon  us!"  Barere  made  the  Convention  shudder 
by  telling  how  avid  were  the  nation's  enemies, 
especially  the  English,  of  Robespierre's  blood, 
and  how  at  an  English  masquerade-ball  a  woman 
dressed  as  Charlotte  Corday  had,  with  a  raised 
dagger,  pursued  some  one  disguised  as  Robespierre 
and  threatened  to  Maratize  him!  Robespierre 
himself  referred  to  caricatures  of  him  that  were 
circulating  in  London,  but  declared  that  virtue 
and  courage  were  his  allies  and  that  he  was  ready 
to  die  fighting  tyrants  and  conspirators. 

Within  the  seven  weeks  beginning  June  lo, 
1794,  more  persons  were  guillotined  than  in  the 
whole  thirteen  months  preceding.  We  have  a 
caricature  of  Robespierre's  regime'  that  represents 
the  executioner  at  last  placing  his  own  head  under 
the  blade  as  there  was  no  one  else  left  to  guillotine. 
The  goddess  of  Liberty  looks  on  complacently, 
while  beneath  are  heads  in  heaps  sorted  out 
according  to  calling:  the  clergy,  the  parlement,  the 
nobility,  the  Constituent  and  Legislative  Assem- 
blies, the  Convention.  But  by  far  the  largest  heap 
is  that  of  the  common  people. 

But  what,  now,  was  coming  over  Robespierre? 
During  the  six  weeks  that  followed  on  the  Fete 
to  the  Supreme  Being,  he  kept  away  from  the 
sessions  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety.  Was 
it,  as  his  defenders  maintain,  because  he  disap- 
proved of  all  the  bloodshed?     If  so,  a  very  sudden 

'  Plate  169,  p.  427. 


(.!,.•  SrvMv  ("»'  ii.ill'c  llu*  I.t  [)i;nv-  ilo  l,i  l(.c\oliifiojt  1 


Plate  169.     A  caricature  of  R(jl)esi)ierrc's  r<?Kimc.     Other 

victims  failing  liini,  the  executioner  Is  jjuillotininK 

himsi'lf. 

427 


428  The  French  Revolution 

change  must  have  come  over  him  since  the  days 
when  he  championed  the  laws  of  Prairial.  Or  was 
it  because  he  read  the  signs  of  the  times  and  saw 
ominous  tokens  that  his  rule  was  over?  More 
than  once  he  had  to  defend  himself  in  the  Jacobin 
Club,  to  refute  the  "absurd  charges"  that  he  was 
aiming  at  dictatorship  and  that  members  of  the 
Convention  were  in  danger  from  him. 

He  was  harmed  at  this  critical  juncture  by  being 
involved  in  the  charge  of  having  protected  an  old 
woman,  Catherine  Theot,  who  was  now  brought 
to  trial  and  who  posed  as  the  founder  of  a  new 
religion  and  even  called  herself  the  Mother  of  God. 

But  what  finally  ruined  Robespierre  was  not 
his  personal  ambition,  not  his  dealings  with  an  old 
sorceress,  but  the  fact  that  France  was  gaining 
victories.  They  fell  on  him,  writes  Barere  in  his 
memoirs,  like  so  many  furies.  So  long  as  the 
enemies  threatened  the  ruin  and  disruption  of  the 
country,  men  had  deliberately  closed  their  eyes 
to  the  hideous  doings  at  home.  But  at  Fleurus 
the  French  won,  and  both  the  Austrians  and  the 
English  were  driven  out  of  Belgium.  From  day  to 
day  the  feeling  gained  ground  that  the  bloody 
system  irrevocably  associated  with  Robespierre's 
name  was  no  longer  necessary,  that  the  national 
existence  was  no  longer  at  stake. 

We  have  the  letters  of  a  secret  agent  who  warned 
Robespierre  that  storms  were  gathering  round 
him,  but  who  saw  in  still  further  severity  his  only 
hope  of  salvation.  Robespierre  was  urged  to  ap- 
pear in  the   Convention   and   strike   a  blow  that 


Reaction  429 

should  utterly  terrify  his  antagonists.  "Go  to  work 
on  a  grand  scale ;  go  to  work  like  the  legislators  of 
a  great  republic,"  writes  the  agent,  who  lays  stress 
on  the  opposition  to  Robespierre's  religious  system 
and  also  on  the  affair  of  Catherine  Thcot. ' 

On  July  26th,  Robespierre  did  appear  in  tlie 
Convention  and  did  make  the  speech  his  agent 
had  advised.  He  began  in  a  wheedling  tone:  he 
had  come  to  dispel  cruel  errors;  they  were  no 
tyrants,  so  the  cries  of  outraged  innocence  would 
nut  oft"end  them.  It  was  not  the  Committee  of 
Public  Safety  who  were  responsible  for  the  Reign 
of  Terror,  it  was  the  monsters  who  accused  it. 
None  but  conspirators  could  have  invented  this 
idea  of  dictatorship.  To  think  that  he,  Robes- 
pierre, should  seem  an  object  of  dread  to  the  men 
he  loved  and  revered!  For  a  sensitive  soul  like 
his,  what  a  punishment !  They  call  him  a  tyrant, 
but  if  he  was  one,  these  would  be  the  very  men 
to  crawl  at  his  feet  and  to  let  him  stuff  them  with 
gold.  No,  he  is  no  tyrant,  he  declares,  he  is  a 
slave  of  Liberty,  a  living  martyr  of  the  republic. 

Here  we  may  imagine  that  the  tame  cat  expres- 
sion left  him  and  the  tigerish  gleam  flashed  from 
his  eyes.  He  has  truths  to  utter,  but  if  they  wish 
him  to  conceal  them,  let  them  bring  the  hemlock 
and  he  will  drink  it.  He  must  do  his  duty,  he  has 
traitors  to  denounce!  In  the  very  heart  of  the 
Convention  there  is  a  criminal  coalition;  among 
the  conspirators  are  members  even  of  the  Coni- 

«  All  the  chief  (hx-umcnts  for  ihclast  dfaliiiKS  of  Rol)fspicTri'  with 
the  Convention  are  U>  be  found  in  liuehez  el  Roux,  vol.  xxxiii. 


430  The  French  Revolution 

mittee  of  Public  Safety.  They  are  seeking  the 
ruin  of  their  country.  What  is  the  remedy?  To 
seize  these  traitors!  To  rid  the  defenders  of 
Liberty  of  this  horde  of  rascals ! 

So  completely  was  the  Convention  under  the 
spell  of  Robespierre's  rushing  eloquence  that  the 
full  import  of  these  remarks  was  not  at  first  per- 
ceived. It  was  voted  to  print  his  discourse  and 
distribute  it  among  all  the  departments  of  France. 
Then  a  vague  fear  came  over  the  deputies.  What 
was  this  charge  of  treason?  Whose  turn  would 
come  next?  A  member  courageously  called  upon 
Robespierre  to  name  those  whom  he  accused,  and 
others  joined  in  the  chorus.  Robespierre  had 
dared  all  and  lost.  He  would  not  name  them,  he 
declared,  not  then,  at  least.  The  Convention 
revoked  its  decree  to  print  his  discourse  and  send 
it  to  the  departments.  Robespierre's  prestige  had 
received  a  crushing  blow. 

But  the  closing  scene  in  this  greatest  of  all 
political  dramas  was  reserved  for  the  next  day. 
Shortly  after  mid-day,  St. -Just  rose  to  speak;  but 
when  it  became  evident  that  he  meant  to  defend 
Robespierre,  he  encountered  a  towering  wave  of 
opposition.  One  whom  Robespierre  had  person- 
ally injured,  Tallien,  threw  caution  to  the  winds. 
His  heart  ached,  he  declared,  at  all  the  woes  of 
his  country;  the  moment  had  come  for  rending 
the  veil  asunder!  There  were  cries  of  approval 
from  all  sides:  "Yes,  yes,  let  the  truth  shine 
forth  and  let  the  traitors  be  known!"  Among 
those   denouncing    St. -Just    was    one    of    Robes- 


Reaction  43 1 

pierre's  own  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  Billaud- 
Varennes. 

It  was  a  supreme  moment:  tensest  with  passion 
of  any  in  the  RevoKition.  In  this  one  man  the 
whole  policy  of  blood  was  now  being  condemned. 
The  members  applauded  each  blow  that  was 
struck  at  their  former  idol;  they  rose  in  a  body, 
they  waved  their  hats,  they  cheered  the  republic, 
the  Convention,  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety. 
They  offered  to  die  for  Liberty.  When  Lebas,  a 
friend  of  Robespierre's,  tried  to  take  the  floor,  he 
was  shouted  down,  and  when  Robespierre  himself 
made  a  dash  for  the  speaker's  desk,  there  were 
cries  of  "Down  with  him!     Down  with  the  tyrant !" 

It  was  as  though  dogs  had  tasted  blood.  All 
hurled  themselves  on  Robespierre.  Billaud-Va- 
rennes  threw  the  whole  odium  for  the  laws  of 
Prairial  on  his  former  associate  and,  to  quote  the 
minutes  literally,  "all  eyes  are  turned  on  Robes- 
pierre and  express  the  horror  he  inspires ;  a  general 
shudder  is  perceptible."  Tallicn  threatened  to 
stab  "this  new  Cromwell"  to  the  heart  should  the 
Convention  not  punish  him.  He  now  denounced 
others  as  adherents  of  Robespierre. 

A  score  of  times  the  hounded  man  tried  to  reply. 
Unanimous  cries  prevented  him  from  speaking. 
He  grew  more  and  more  agitated  and  furiously 
waved  his  arms.  "Down  with  the  tyrant!" 
came  in  a  steady  roar.  "He  turns  for  a  moment 
to  St. -Just,"  say  the  minutes,  "whose  attitude  pro- 
claims his  despair  at  seeing  himself  unmasked  and 
who  has  no  encouragement  to  ofTcr."   ( )nce  more  he 


432  The  French  Revolution 

insisted  on  the  floor,  once  more  all  the  members 
cry,  "Down  with  the  tyrant!"  and  at  last  force 
him  into  silence. 

All  constraint  was  gone.  A  member  even 
evoked  laughter  by  ridiculing  Robespierre  as  the 
one  and  only  defender  of  Liberty,  the  martyr,  the 
man  of  rare  modesty.  The  latter  found  breath 
to  accuse  Tallien  of  falsehood,  then  the  din  silenced 
him  again. 

We  have  a  most  vivid  and  detailed  account  in 
the  Moniteur  of  the  scenes  that  followed:  how 
Robespierre  made  a  mute  appeal  with  his  eyes  to 
his  former  friends  of  the  Mountain,  how  some 
remained  immovable,  others  turned  away  their 
heads  but  the  great  majority  showed  hostility; 
how  the  frantic  man  then  appealed  to  the  whole 
Assembly  against  these  "bandits"  and  how  finally 
he  shrieked  at  the  president  of  the  Convention: 
"President  of  assassins,  I  demand  the  floor!" 
There  was  a  violent  commotion.  The  noise  was  so 
great  that  Robespierre  wore  himself  out  with  efforts 
to  make  himself  heard.  His  voice  died  away.  He 
seemed  at  the  last  gasp.  Then  a  member  ex- 
claimed: "It  is  the  blood  of  Danton  that  is 
suffocating  him ! ' '  This  brought  Robespierre  back 
to  life:  "  Then  it  is  Danton  you  are  trying  to 
avenge!"  he  cried,  and  the  tumult  began  anew. 

There  was  now  a  demand,  first  isolated  then 
becoming  unanimous,  for  Robespierre's  arrest. 
He  begged  them  to  decree  his  death,  and  it  was 
declared  that  he  well  deserved  such  a  fate.  There- 
upon   the    younger    Robespierre    rushed    to    his 


Reaction  433 

brother's  side  and  asked  to  die  with  him;  "both," 
say  the  minutes,  "their  eyes  sparkhng  with  rage 
and  seeing  the  iiselcssness  of  a  farther  pretence  of 
calmness,  insult,  abuse,  and  threaten  the  National 
Assembly." 

The  whole  Convention  rose.  With  an  air  of 
fury  Robespierre  runs  to  different  parts  of  the  hall ; 
he  mounts  and  descends  the  steps  of  the  platform ; 
he  finally  falls  panting  on  a  chair.  His  arrest  is 
decreed  amid  thunders  of  applause,  as  is  like- 
wise that  of  Couthon,  St. -Just,  and  Lebas.  The 
ushers  are  summoned  to  bring  them  before  the 
bar. 

Ill  the  course  of  the  next  few  hours,  all  the 
wildest  scenes  of  the  Revolution  were  re-enacted 
in  swift  succession.  The  tocsin  rang,  the  barriers 
were  closed,  the  Commune  armed  its  satellites 
who  rescued  the  Convention's  prisoners.  Save  the 
paralytic  Couthon,  they  were  soon  all  in  the  Hotel 
de  Viile. 

To  the  Convention  came  news  that  a  new  Re- 
volutionary government  was  being  set  up  and 
that  the  meeting-place  of  the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety  was  being  surrounded.  But  the  Conven- 
tion itself  was  upheld  now  by  many  of  the  spec- 
tators and  by  the  National  Guards  and  showed 
a  different  spirit  from  what  the  Legislative  Assem- 
bly had  done  on  a  similar  occasion.  Hanriot, 
again  a  leader  of  the  mob,  was  arrested,  then  torn 
from  his  captcjrs.  The  Convention  proclaimed 
Hanriot,  as  well  as  the  two  Robespierres,  vSt.-Just, 
Lebas,  and  routhon,  rebels  and  outlaws  to  be  shot 

38 


434  The  French  Revolution 

down  by  any  one  at  sight.  A  force  of  guards  was 
despatched  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville. 

In  the  National  Archives  of  France  is  a  note, 
addressed  to  Couthon  and  signed  by  the  Robes- 
pierres  and  St. -Just:  "Couthon,  all  the  patriots 
are  outlawed ;  the  entire  people  has  risen ;  it  would 
be  treason  to  it  not  to  come  to  us  at  the 
Commune!" 

The  cause  of  the  Convention  was  rapidly  gaining. 
There  were  deputations,  protestations  of  fidelity, 
cheers.  Word  was  sent  to  the  guards  that  before 
the  sun  rose  the  conspirators  must  be  snatched 
from  their  retreat  and  punished.  A  drenching 
rain  helped  to  scatter  the  disorganized  mob. 

A  pall  of  despair  settled  down  upon  the  besieged. 
Then  came  acts  of  violence,  of  self-destruction. 
Hanriot  was  thrown  from  a  window  by  a  member 
of  the  Council  of  the  Commune  for  daring  to  say 
that  all  was  lost.  Robespierre  shot  himself, 
shattering  his  jaw,  and  Lebas  succeeded  better 
with  a  similar  attempt  at  suicide.  St. -Just  and 
some  twenty  adherents  were  arrested. 

Over  at  the  Tuileries,  for  a  brief  moment,  the 
National  Convention  was  thrown  into  a  fresh 
panic.  The  president  announced  "the  cowardly 
Robespierre  is  there.  .  .  .  It  is  doubtless  your  will 
that  he  do  not  come  in."  The  suffering  man  had 
been  borne  on  a  litter  to  the  scene  of  his  former 
triumphs.  A  thousand  voices  cried  "No."  It  was 
declared  that  the  corpse  of  the  tyrant  would  bring 
naught  but  the  plague,  that  he  and  his  accom- 
plices  must  be  guillotined    on    the    Place   de    la 


Reaction  435 

Revolution.  He  was  carried  to  the  quarters  of 
the  Committee  of  Public  Safety. 

One  shudders  at  the  accounts  of  the  insults 
heaped  upon  the  helpless  Robespierre:  how  he 
was  reproached,  struck,  spat  upon,  and  pricked  with 
knives.  He  lay  long  impassive,  though  suffering 
terribly;  then  for  a  moment  the  old  Adam  rose 
in  him  mightily.  As  he  was  being  carried  down 
the  great  staircase  of  the  Tuileries,  he  suddenly 
collected  all  his  strength  and  struck  out  savagely 
at  one  of  his  bearers. 

He  had  been  recognized  as  an  enemy  of  his 
country,  and  therefore,  according  to  Billaud- 
Varennes'  maxim,  needed  no  trial.  Eighty-two 
of  his  partisans  were  gviillotined  with  him. 

As  the  last  in  our  series  of  symbolical  repre- 
sentations we  have  an  allegory  called  "Equality 
triumphant  or  the  Triumvirate  punished."' 
Underneath  is  the  text: 

Equality  with  the  scales  in  one  hand  and  the  sword  in 
the  other  hovers  over  the  republic,  her  foot  lightly  restinj^ 
on  a  level.  She  crushes  the  heads  of  the  tyrant  Robes- 
pierre, the  hypocrite  Couthon,  and  the  insolent  St. -Just. 
Their  agents  lie  with  them  in  the  tomb  of  ignominy.  The 
National  Convention  which,  in  the  night  from  the  9th  to 
the  loth  of  Thermidor  disjjlayed  as  much  courage  as  virtue 
in  putting  down  the  triumvirs,  has  saved  the  country.  Let 
us  all  repeat  with  it:  Long  live  the  Republic,  Liberty,  and 
Equality. 


The    complete    reversal    of    what    Robcspiinc 

'  Plate  170.  ]..  4.^7. 


436  The  French  Revolution 

might  have  called  "my  policies"  did  not  come 
quite  as  swiftly  as  one  would  have  imagined, 
although  the  influence  of  his  fall  was  felt  immedi- 
ately. Space  forbids  our  going  into  this  matter 
of  the  reaction  in  detail,  but  it  is  interesting  to 
look  at  the  dates  at  least  of  some  of  the  chief 
legislative  acts,  remembering  that  the  date  of 
Robespierre's  execution  was  July  28,  1794. 

Already  on  August  5th  it  was  decreed  that  all 
categories  of  suspects  not  especially  designated 
by  the  laws  of  September,  1793,  should  be  at  once 
set  at  liberty  and  that  the  reasons  for  their  arrest 
should  be  furnished  to  those  still  detained  or  to 
their  relatives  and  friends.  In  October  a  check  was 
put  on  the  reckless  denunciations  in  the  Convention 
that  had  caused  that  body  to  lose  so  many  of  its 
members. 

The  Convention  was  still  chary  of  stirring  up 
the  question  of  the  ownership  of  property  confis- 
cated during  the  Terror,  and  as  late  as  December, 
1794,  declared  formally  that  it  would  admit  no 
demands  for  reversal  of  judgments  in  this  matter. 
But  in  June,  1795,  all  confiscations  of  property 
made  since  March,  1793,  were  annulled,  and  with 
certain  exceptions,  restitution  was  made  either 
to  the  owners  or  their  heirs. 

The  Revolutionary  Tribunal  still  continued  in 
existence  for  a  while,  but  with  many  modifications 
in  the  severity  of  the  procedure;  the  accused  were 
allowed  not  only  to  call  witnesses  but  also  to 
confront  them  one  with  another.  In  May,  1795, 
the  whole  institution  was  abolished  and  a  return 


I    It.  \M  I  I,     I  IIMJM  I'll  \\  I  I 


r.l       1HUM\  in  V  I      I'l    \  I 


Plate  170.     An  allegorical  representation  of  Equality  trium|)l)inK  ovit 

Robespierre  and  his  adherents.     The  Wfirkmanshij)  Irxiks  like  that  of 

David  who  so  recently  had  glorified  Robespierre. 

4.17 


438  The  French  Revolution 

made  to  the  state  of  affairs  in  September  1791. 
On  February  21,  1795,  freedom  of  worship  was 
decreed,  but  within  proper  bounds.  There  was 
to  be  no  state-rehgion,  no  salaried  clergy,  no  flaunt- 
ing of  religious  emblems. 

The  penalties  against  the  emigres  continued  in 
force,  but  in  April  it  was  decreed  that  their  rela- 
tives and  friends  should  be  free  from  molestation. 

Women,  as  we  have  seen,  had  played  a  very 
great  part  throughout  the  Revolution.  But  in  a 
movement  where  so  much  harm  was  done  by  the 
frequent  giving  way  to  the  excitement  of  the 
moment,  their  influence  had  been  particularly 
baneful.  This  the  National  Convention  fully 
recognized.  On  May  23,  1795,  it  had  the  courage 
— ^for  it  takes  courage  to  oppose  a  whole  sex  and 
deprive  it  of  rights  long  enjoyed  but  not  worthily 
exercised — to  decree  that  women  might  no  longer 
be  present  at  any  political  assembly  and,  further- 
more, that  they  should  be  liable  to  arrest  if  they 
assembled  in  the  streets  to  the  number  of  more  than 
five.  This,  then,  was  the  outcome  of  woman's 
rights  agitation  during  the  Revolution. 

In  June,  1795,  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI  and 
Marie  Antoinette,  the  last  survivor  of  the  royal 
party  that  had  been  incarcerated  in  the  Temple 
in  August,  1792,  was  formally  handed  over  by 
agreement  to  the  Austrians.  She  became  the 
Duchesse  d'Angouleme.  Her  brother,  the  Dau- 
phin, had  died  in  captivity;  or,  at  all  events,  not 
one  of  the  thirty  or  more  pretenders  who  afterwards 
cropped    up    ever   succeeded    in    telling    a    really 


Reaction  439 

plausible  story.  Even  clever  investigators  like 
Le  Notre  and  Barbey,  who  claim  to  have  proved 
the  Dauphin's  escape  from  the  Temple,  do  not 
profess  to  follow  him  farther  than  the  door. 

On  August,  15,1 795,  all  sentences  passed  in  Revo- 
lutionary matters  since  March  10,  1793,  were  re- 
voked and  all  prisoners  ordered  to  be  released, 
unless  the  regular  courts  should  have  found  reason 
to  reindict  them,  and  even  then  the  period  of 
detention  already  served  was  to  be  taken  into 
consideration. 

A  great  step  forward  was  the  abolition  on 
August  23,  1795,  of  the  Jacobin  Club,  and,  indeed, 
of  all  political  clubs  or  popular  societies.  The 
Convention  w^as  coming  now  to  the  very  root  of 
the  matter.  The  name  of  sans-culotte  had  be- 
come odious,  and  on  August  24th  the  term  saus- 
cidottides  was  voted  out  of  the  calendar.  The 
priests — those  at  least  who  had  refused  to  take 
the  oath  in  the  form  required  by  a  law  of  the  1 1  th 
of  Prairial  of  the  year  II — remained  unforgiven. 
Indeed,  by  a  law  passed  on  October  14,  1795, 
those  emigres  and  refractory  priests  who  had  re- 
turned to  France  without  permission  were  form- 
ally expelled  once  more,  as  well  as  all  pronounced 
royalists. 

There  remained  two  acts  of  expiation.  The 
surviving  members  of  the  (Girondist  party,  so 
cruelly  expelled  on  June  2,  1793,  had  been  formally 
received  back  into  the  bosom  of  tlic  Convention, 
and  by  decree  of  October  3,  1795.  ''  ^l^iy  was 
solemnly   consecrated    to    the   memory    of   forty- 


O 

o 
nS 


13 
C 

d 

O 


O 
> 


13 
o 

Oj 


OJ 
13 

O 
o 

o 
U 


1) 

13 

o 
o 


440 


Reaction  441 

seven  of  them,  who  were  mentioned  by  name  as 
having  perished  in  the  prisons,  or  in  the  fortresses 
or  on  the  scaffold,  or  as  having  taken  their  own 
lives  "during  the  tyranny  of  the  decemvirs."  We 
find  among  them  the  eloquent  Vergniaud,  Valaze, 
Barbaroux,  Pction,  Buzot,  and  Roland. 

The  last  great  act  was  a  purely  symbolical  one — • 
the  renaming  of  what  had  been  the  great  stage  on 
which  the  drama  of  the  Revolution  had  been  acted. 
Once  the  Place  Louis  Quinze,  then  the  Place  de  la 
Revolution,  it  hence-forward  was  to  be  the  Place 
de  la    Concorde.^ 

Whatever  ingenious  historians  may  say  as  to 
the  date  of  the  conclusion  of  the  Revolution, 
the  decree  of  the  fourth  of  Bmmairc  of  the 
year  IV  (October  26,  1795)  stands  there  as  a 
great  terminal  monument.  From  that  day  all 
warrants  of  arrest,  whether  served  as  yet  or  not, 
all  prosecutions,  proceedings,  and  sentences  that 
had  to  do  with  purely  Revolutionary  matters, 
were  declared  null  and  void.  In  connection  with 
the  naming  of  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  it  was 
expressly  and  literally  decreed  as  follows:  "  The 
street  which  leads  to  this  Place  shall  bear  the  name 
of  Rue  de  hi  Revolution,''  meaning  that  the  old 
troubled  epoch  had  served  its  turn,  but  was  now 
superseded . 

'  Plate  171,  p.  440. 


INDEX 


Abbeville,    408 

Abundance,  personified,  147 

Achilles,  170 

Acton,  Lord,  395  n. 

Agoult,  see  d'Agoult 

Aiguillon,  Minister,  12 

Aix,  seneschalry  of,  32 

Alsace,     violation     of     property 

rights  in,  204 
America,  4,  6,  295,  317 
American  colonics,  17 
American  Constitution,  the,  4,  73 
American  Revolution,  the.  5,  222 
American  States,  constitutions  of 

the,  5;  example  dreaded,  338 
Americans,  the,  74;  wished  Louis 

XVI  sent  to  them,  317 
Ami  du  Peuple,  the,  of  Marat,  95, 

140.  340 
Amiens,  408 
Anthony,  St.,  119 
Archiepiscopal   palace,    iii 
Archives,  National,  see  National 
Aristocrat,  hatred  of  the,  155,  157 
A  rmoire  de  fer,  the,  finding  of,  282 ; 

cartoon  concerning,  283-4 
Arras,  191 
Artois,  Comte  d',    15;  patron  of 

Tennis  Court,  36;  wishes  to  play 

tennis,  38;  advises  I>ouis  XVI, 

39;  emigrates,  92-3 
Assembly,  National,  see  National 
Assignats,  emission  of,  1 19 
August   4,    1789,    decrees   of,    88, 

124,  204 
August   10,   1792,  events  of,  252- 

61;  fCtc  in  h(.nfjur  of,   268-70, 

385 
Aulard,36n..  192  n.,  2ir)  n.,  213  n., 

216  n.,  218  n.,  220  n.,  222  n., 


223  n.,  230  n.,  231  n.,  247  n., 
271  n.,  336  n.,  399  n.,  409  n. 
Aunts,  the  King's,  164,  166 
Austria,   joins  in    declaration    of 
Pillnitz,  202;  ultimatum  sent  to, 
226;  allies  herself  with  Prussia, 
228;    war  declared  against,    by 
France,    230;    her   forces   com- 
manded   by    Brunswick,    248; 
scorned  by  France,  327 
Austrians,    the,    besiege    Verdun, 
289;  defeated  at  Gcnappes,  305; 
driven  out  of  Belgium,  428 
Auteuil,  s 

Autun,  Talleyrand,  bishop  of,  117 
Avignon,  annexed  to  France,  202 
Az6ma,  deputy,    233  n.,   234  n., 
236  n.,  253  n. 

B 

Bailly,  Jean  Sylvain,  administers 
oath,  33;  complains  of  six.'cta- 
tors,  34;  badly  treated,  35; 
protects  Martin  Dauch,  38;  ob- 
jects to  treatment  of  Assembly, 
39,  56  n.;  Mayor  of  Paris,  58; 
I)resents  keys  of  Paris,  .s8;  gives 
cockade  to  Louis  XVI,  60, 
62-3,  no  n.;  jilot  to  murder, 
121,  173,  176;  fires  on  mob,  192- 
3;  execution  of,  4  12 

Barbaroux,  (Girondist  deputy,  345, 
348-9;  death  of,  396;  justice 
done  to,  441 

Barbey,  439 

Barere,  312;  advocates  haste  with 
King's  trial,  318;  makes  the 
Convenlinn   shudder.   426,   428 

Bamave,  deputy,  110;  sent  to 
bring  l)a(k  royal  family,  iHi, 
1H5,  186-7:  |)k'ads  for  I^)uis 
XVI,   190,   196 


443 


444 


Index 


Barry,  Madame  du,  dies  hard,  412 

Bartholomew,  St.,  massacre  of,  55 

Bartolozzi,  artist,  405 

Bastile,  the,  6,  12 ;  condition  of,  49; 
storming  of,  50-1 ;  demolition 
of,  52,  60,  73,  99,  107,  124,  126; 
Conquerors  of  the,  123,  130,  139, 
143,  145-6;  anniversary  of  the 
fall  of,  242-3,  250,  356-7,  371 

Batiffol,  104  n. 

Bazire,  deputy,  340 

Beaulieu,  394  n. 

Beaumarchais,  167 

Belgians,  the,  231 

Belgium,  231;  the  English  and 
Austrians   driven    out    of,    428 

Berry,  32 

Bertaux,  artist,  256 

Berthier,  54,  64,  121,  123;  his 
corpse  mutilated,  66,  75 

Billaud-Varennes,  deputy,  317; 
member  of  the  Committee  of 
Public  Safety.  336,  372,  415; 
denounces  St.-Just,  431 

Blanchard,  balloonist,  225 

Blondel,   97 

Boileau,  deputy,  340 

Boizot,  engraver,  311 

Bombelles,  Marquise  de,  174 

Bondy,  178,  188 

Bordeaux,  348,  396 

Bouille,  General,  178,  184  n. 

Bouille,  Comte  Louis  de,  178  n., 
179  n.,  184  n. 

Bourbons,   the,  23,  89;  expelled, 

359 
Breteuil,  minister,  12,  175,  218 

Breze,  de,  see  de 

Brienne,  Lomenie  de,  minister, 
12;  breaks  with  the  Parlement, 
19;  dismissal,  20 

Brigands,  the,  75 

Brissot,  deputy,  214,  221,  253; 
trial    of,    391 

Brumaire,  month  of,  401 

Brunswick,  Duke  of,  his  mani- 
festo, 248,  280;  defeated  at 
Valmy,  302;  caricature  of,  303 

Brutus,  264,  324,  331,  409,  413 

Buchez  (et  Roux),  73  n.,  127  n., 
321  n.,  333  n.,  334  n.,  337  n., 
352  n.,  380  n.,  429  n. 

Buzot,  deputy,  172;  beloved  by 
Madame  Roland,  298,  348; 
death  of,  396;  rehabilitated,  441 


Ca  ira,  the,  5 

Caen,  347;  abandons  the  Giron- 
dists, 348,  352 

Caesar,  Julius,  324,  340 

Calas,  victim  of  persecution,  108 

Calendar,  the  Revolutionary,  see 
Revolutionary 

Caligula,    191 

Calonne,  his  policy,  17-18;  op- 
posed by  Parlement,  18;  pro- 
poses reforms,  19;  refuses  to 
give  statement,  19;  helps  draw 
up  Brunswick's  manifesto,  248 

Calvados,  department  of  the,  347 

Cambon,  deputy,  333,  335,  341 

Cambridge,   50 

Camille  Desmoulins,  see  Des- 
moulins. 

Canecaude,  de,  98 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  8,  19,  50,  98  n., 
179  n.,  184  n. 

Carmagnole,  the,  410 

Carrier,  at  Nantes,  334;  at  FSte 
to  Reason,  406 

Carrousel,  Place  du,  see  Place 

Catherine  II,  Czarina,  224,  309 

Catherine  Theot,  see  Theot 

Cato,  264 

Cerberus,    121 

Chabroud,  97-8 

Chalier,  deputy  and  martyr  of 
Liberty,  371,373,409 

Chalons,    176,    183-4 

Champ  de  Mars,  129-30,  133, 
135,  142;  affair  of  July  17th  on, 
192-3;  anniversary  held  on, 
242-3;  Fete  held  on,  365  ff. ; 
Bailly  executed  on,  412;  Fete 
to  the  Supreme  Being  held  on, 
420-3 

Champion,  2  n. 

Champs  Elysees,  185 

Charlemagne,   334 

Charles  IX,  play  of,  120 

Charlotte,  Queen  of  England,  305 

Charon,  107-8 

Chateauneuf,  Miomandre  de,  see 
Miomandre 

Chatelet,  the,  95  n. 

Chaumette,  deputy,  376-7;  wor- 
ships reason,  406,  409 

Cherbourg,  harbour  of , 18 

Chcrestc,  16  n. 


Index 


445 


Christ,  denial  of,  404 
Christian  Era,  abolished,  397-9 
Chronique  de  Paris,  ^'^2,  357  n., 

367-« 

Church,  landed  property  of  the, 
116 

Cincinnatus,  order  of,  4  n. 

Clavierc,  first  ministry',  230;  Minis- 
ter of  Finance,  270,  296 

Cl^ry,  valet  of  Louis  XVI,  312  n., 
313.  320 

Cloots,  Anacharsis,  127 

Clovis,  156 

Coalition,  the,  327-8 

Coblenz,    203 

Collier,  I'affaire  du,  15  n. 

CoUot  d'  Herbois,  296;  and  the 
September  massacres,  341;  in 
Lyons,  380,  382,  413 

Com^die  Fran^aisc,  120,  209 

Committee  of  Public  Safety,  its 
organization,  336  flf.,  349;  joined 
by  Robespierre,  371;  dissolu- 
tion of,  attempted  by  Hubert, 
413;  decrees  Danton's  arrest, 
415;  recognizes  the  Supreme 
Being  and  the  immortality  iA 
the  soul,  429-31.  433.  435 

Committee  of   Twelve,   343,   346 

Committee  of  surveillance,  336-7 

Commune,  the,  of  Paris,  on  August 

10,  1792,  260  fT.;  council  of  the, 
270,274;  its  work  of  propaganda, 
278-9,  280;  spreads  alarm,  287- 
9;  cashiered,  288;  favors  the 
September  massacres,  290-4, 
296,  333,  340;  demands  expul- 
sion of  Girondist  members, 
342-7,  374;  refuses  certificates 
(>i  civism,  377;  opens  bureau 
for  aljjurati(jns,  404 

Conciergerie,  pris^m,  379;  Marie 
Antoinette  in  the,  383-5; 
Madame  Roland  in  the,  394 

Condorcct,  defends  the  men  of 
August  loth,  279-80 

Conquerors  of  the  Bastile,  see 
Rastile 

Constitution,  the,  of  1789-91, 
oath  never  to  separate  until 
completed,  36;  forging  away 
at  the,  73-4;  completed,  194; 
accepted,  197-202,  206-H,  210 

11,  219-31.  224,  228,  232.  239. 
246,  258,  270,  316 


Constitution,    the   American,    see 

American 
Constitution,    the    Girondist,    of 

,  '793.  354 

Constitution,  the  Jacobin,  cf  1793, 
354.  356;  F6te  in  honour  of. 
357  flF.;  oath  to  defend,  366; 
a  dead  letter,  368-9 

Control  Social,  3 

C"url)eil,  404 

Corday,  Charlotte,  stabs  Marat, 
348;  a  close  student  of  the  Revo- 
lution, 349;  executed,  349; 
painted  by  Haucr,  350-1;  her 
effigy  on  playing  cards.  376; 
an  English  masquerader  as,  426 

Cordelier  Club,  335,  414 

Corsica,   326 

Courier  de  Versailles,  98 

Couthon,  and  the  trial  of  Louis 
XVL  318;  joins  the  Committee 
of  Public  Safety,  336;  moves 
arrest  of  the  Committee  of 
Twelve,  346,  425;  imder  arrest, 
433;  summoned  by  Robespierre, 
St. -Just.,    etc.,    434;   executed, 

-135 
Cromwell,   loi,  238 
Custine,    General,    takes    Mainz, 

305 


D 


Daggers,  the  day  of,  165-8,  177 
d'Agoult,  178 

Danton,  194,  250;  made  Minister 
of  Justice,  270;  his  career,  274; 
characteristics  of,  274;  his 
activity  on  August  loth,  278; 
and  the  September  massacres, 
292-4,  296,  298,  304,  320,  326, 
333.  335.  33«.  374;  in^-urs 
Robespierre's  enmity,  413;  at 
the  foot  of  the  scafToKl,  417.  425 

Dantonist'-^the.assiiiledby  Robes- 
])ierre,  413:  under  arrest,  415; 
trial  and  cxeiution,  416-17 

Darcis,  engraver,  31 1 

d'Argenteau,  Mercy,  iff  Mercy 

d'Art(jis,  Comte,  see  Artois 

Daucli.  Martin,  36,  3Hn. 

Dauphin,  the,  156,  178,  188, 
236;  carriffl  to  tlie  National 
Assembly,  254:  testifies  against 
liis  mother,  386;  his  fate,  438-9 


446 


Index 


David,  artist,  350;  arranges  Fgte 
to  Unity  and  Indivisibility, 
357-67;  arranges  Marat's  fu- 
neral, 367,  369-70;  sketches 
Marie  Antoinette,  387-9;  ar- 
ranges Fete  to  the  Supreme 
Being,  419,  421,  437 

David,  King,  51 

Debats  et  Dccrets,  Journal  des,  34 
n.,  35  n.,  40  n.,  58  n.,  78  n.,  117 
n.,  174  n.,  179  n.,  181  n.,  182  n., 
183  n.,  208  n.,  210  n.,  212 
n.,  220  n.,  242  n.,  255  n.,  261 
n.,  276  n.,  333  n. 

de  Bt6z6,  Master  of  Ceremonies, 
40,  172-3 

de  Canecaude,  98 

Declaration  of  Pillnitz,  see  Pill- 
nitz 

d'Eglantine,  see  Fabre 

Degoine,  Marquis  de,  103 

De  la  Motte  see  Motte 

De  Launay,  governor  of  the 
Bastile,  surrenders,  49;  mur- 
dered, 52,  56;  satire  on,  107-8, 
121 

Delaware,  the,  222 

Denis,  St.,  see  St. 

Denmark,  223,  225,  328 

d'Epr^smesnil,  see  Epr^smesnil 

Derosnet,  103  n. 

Des  Essarts,  395 

Desmoulins,  Camille,  167,  204 

Desrues,   poisoner,    121,    123 

Diogenes,   72 

Drouet,  postmaster  of  St.  Mene- 
hould,  181,  186 

Drouet,  deputy,  374 

DuchSne,  Pere,  see  Pere 

Duguit  et  Mounier,  75  n. 

Dumouriez,  minister  and  general, 
2,  74,  232;  sends  alarming 
reports,  239;  told  to  invade 
Holland,  328;  turns  traitor, 
328;  arrests  commissioners,  329- 
30,  341;  his  effigy  on  playing 
cards,  376 

Duvergier,  117  n.,  130  n.,  147  n., 
188  n.,  208  n.,  239  n.,  279  n., 
293  n-.  331  n-.  332  n.,  354  n. 

E 

Echelle,  Rue  de  1',  see  Rue 
d'Eglantine,  see  Fabre 


Elizabeth,  Madame,  177;  made 
love  to  by  Petion,  185;  on 
August  10,  1792,  254;  letter  of 
Marie  Antoinette  to,  388 

Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  I.s6 

Eloquence  parlementaire  (Aulard), 
213  n.,  216  n.,  218  n.,  220  n., 
,  222   n.,   230  n. 

Emigres,  the  first,  92-3;  exploit 
declaration  of  Pillnitz,  203; 
their  follies,  204;  summoned  to 
return,  214;  as  haughty  beggars, 
215;  threats  against,  216;  Treves 
made  to  abandon,  217-18; 
measures  against,  not  sanc- 
tioned by  King,  218;  carica- 
tured, 223;  cartoon  concerning, 
226,  229;  property  of  fathers,  of 
confiscated,  334;  not  pardoned, 
438 

Empire,  the  Germanic,  or  Holy 
Roman,  226,  229,  328 

Encyclopredia,  the,  274 

England,  constitution  of,  90-92, 
305,  318,  327;_ declares  war,  328 

English,  the,  in  possession  of 
Toulon,  330;  driven  from  Bel- 
gium, -J28 

Envy,  personified,  109 

Enrages,  the,  221;  caricatured, 
226-7;  their  power,  295 

Epr^smesnil,  d',  120 

Equality,  personified,  311,  315 

Era,  the  Christian,  see  Christian 

Estate,  the  third,  awakening  of, 
51;  leads  nobles  and  clergy  a 
dance,  52 

Estates,  the  three,  depart  for 
Versailles,  23-4;  received  by 
King,  25;  costumes  of,  25-7; 
deadlock  between,  28-30;  re- 
uniting of,  41-7 

Estates  of  the  clergy,  see  Clergy 


Fabre  d'Eglantine,  his  report  on 
the  Calendar,  401-2,  403-4 

Fame,  personified,  147 

Fargeau,  Lepelletier  St.,  see 
Lepelletier 

Fauchet,  Abb^,  218 

Favras,  Marquis  de,  arrest  and 
execution  of,  121;  satire  on,  123 

Federation,  Fete  of,  see  Fete 


Index 


44; 


Ferrieres,    Marquis    de,    26;    his 

hopefulness,  28,  42 
Fcrsen,    Count    Axel,    142;   plans 
flight    to    Varcnnes,    160,    162, 
173;    negotiates    with    Swedish 
king,    174;    plans   to   bankrupt 
France,    175;   assists  in  details 
of  flight  to  Varennes,    177;   as 
coachman,     178,    188,    198    n., 
200  n.,  204,  212  n..  224;  returns 
to  Paris,  226,  228;  helps  with 
Brunswick  manifesto,  248 
Fete  of  Actions,  404 
Ffite  of  Federation,  inception  of, 
126-7;  ^  representation  of,  129; 
preparations    for,     130-2;     en- 
thusiasm for,   132-6;  questions 
in   connection   with,    136,    138; 
unpropitious  circumstances  of, 
140;  merriment  at,  141-2;  r61e 
of   Conquerors   of    the   Bastile 
at,  14=^-6.  147 
Fdte  of  Genius,  403 
F^te  of  Labour,  403 
F6te  of  Opinion,  404 
Ffite  of  Recompense,  404 
F6te    to     the     Supreme     Being, 
decreed    by    Convention,    418; 
arranged  by  David,  419;  Robes- 
pierre at  the,  419-424;  r61e  of 
the  Mountain  at,  421-2 

F6te  to  Unity  and  Indivisibility, 
its  purpose.  356;  arranged  by 
David,  357;  programme  of, 
357  fT.;  first  stage,  357-6 1; 
second  stage,  361;  third  stage, 
361-2;  fourth  stage,  362-4; 
fifth  stage,  364-6;  sixth  stage, 
366-7 

Feuillants,  club  of  the,  192 

Feu  ill  e  Villageoise,  179  n.,  180  n., 
1H6  n.,  242  n.,  331 

Figaro,  167 

I'irmin,  St.,  priests  of,  292 

Flanders,  regiment  of,  summoned 
to  Versailles,  95;  ffited,  95-6; 
fleserts  the  King,  hk),  182 

Flcssellcs,  murder  of,  52,  .S4: 
Siitircon,  107-8,  121,  123 

Fkurus,  battle  of.  428 

Florral,  month  of,  401 

F<.niaincljleau,  190 

Force,  la,  prisfm  i^f,  314 

Fouch6,  deputy,  409 

Foulon,  54;  arrest  of,  62;  murder 


of,  62;  violence  to  body  of,  64, 
70,  75;  satire  on,  107-8;  I2I,  123 

Fowiuier-Tinville,  public  prose- 
cutor, 385;  arraigns  Marie 
Antoinette,  385-6;  would  be- 
head Valaz^'s  corpse,  393;  and 
the  Dantonists,  416 

France,  population  of,  8 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  and  the 
fa  ira,  5;  popularity  of,  6; 
crowned  by  Liberty,  7 

F"raternity,  personified,  311 

Frederick  the  Great,  226 

Fright,  personified,  230 

Frimaire,  month  of,  401 

Fructidor,  month  of,  401 

Funk-Brentano,  15 


Galerie  des  Glaccs,  16 

Gallia  bra  cat  a,   403 

Gazette  de  France,  304 

Genappes,  battle  of,  74,  303,  305, 
328 

Geneva, 1 10 

Genevifeve,  St.,  Church  of,  see 
Saint 

Genius,  the,  of  France,  30 

Gcnsonn^,  Girondist  deputy,  341 

Gentot,  artist,  132 

Geography,  the  Genius  of,  11 1 

George  III,  of  England,  305 

Germanic  Empire,  see  Empire 

Germany,  327 

Grrminal,  month  of,  401 

Ghilicllines,   tlie,  206 

Girey  Dupr6,  288 

Gironde,  the,  and  the  trial  of 
Louis  XVI,  318;  treatment  of, 
by  the  Moimtain,  338-46:  mem- 
bers of,  arrested,  346-8;  rc- 
hal)ililated,  439 

Girondists,  the,  their  policy,  221; 
their  ministers  (lismis.sed,  232, 
296;  in  the  ascendant,  302; 
exi)elled,  344-7:  start  relH'llion, 
347-8;  Charlotte  Corday  an(' 
the,  348,  371;  in  orison,  379; 
outlawed,  383;  trial  and  execu- 
tion of  the,  3«)f>-3.  394.  3<)6 

(iol)el,  archl)isli(H)  of  I'aris,  re- 
pudiates Christianity,  404 

Goji.'ith,  51 

(jomel,  169 


448 


Index 


Gower,  Lord,  162,  162  n.,  166  n., 

172,  18511.,  19911. 
Gracchi,  the,  331;  mother  of  the, 

349 

Grandchamp,  100  n. 

Grangeneuve,  deputy,  attacks 
King, 210 

GranvilUers,  section  of,  410 

Gregoire,  Abbe,  180 

Greve,  Place  de,  see  Place 

Guadet,  Girondist  deputy,  attacks 
King,  210-11,  death  of,  395 

Guards,  the  National,  see  Na- 
tional 

Guelphs,  the,  296 

Guillaume,  183,  186 

Guillotin,  Dr.,  exhibits  machine, 
34 ;  suggests  adjourning  to  the 
Tennis  Court,  35;  mediates,  49, 
275-6;  did  not  perish  by  own 
machine,  277-8 

Guillotin,  Madame,  278 


H 


Hamburg,  i  n.,  74  n. 

Ham  el,  414  n. 

Hannibal,  266 

Hanriot,  would  shoot  president  of 
the  Assembly,  346;  outlawed, 
433;   thrown   from   a    window, 

434 

Hatred,  personified,   iii 

Havre,  docks  of,  18 

Hebert,  376,  391;  against  church 
steeples,  410;  attacked  by  Robes- 
pierre, 411-12;  arrested,  414; 
executed,   415 

H^bertists,  the,  denounced  by 
Robespierre,  413;  glorify  in- 
surrection, 414;  denounced  by 
St. -Just,  414;  trial  of  the,  415 

Henry  IV,  King,  58;  beard 
chopped   off,    266 

Hercules,    242 

Heroines  of  Liberty,  the,  106; 
fgted  on  August  10,  1793, 
360-1 

Histoire  Politique  (Aulard),  336  n. 

Hodey,  Le,  see  Le 

Holland,  225,  327 

Holy  Roman  Empire,  see  Empire 

Honor6,  Rue  St.,  see  Rue 

Horatius,  266 


H6tel  de  Ville,  revolutionary 
body  in,  49;  entry  into,  49,  52, 
57-8;  visited  by  Louis  XVL 
60;  deputations  to,  95;  invaded 
by  women,  98;  "country  in 
danger"  proclaimed  from,  242; 
new  council  installed  in,  252, 
262;  on  9th  of  Thermidor,  434 

Hu^,  servitor  of  Louis  XVI,  313 


Iphigenie,  opera,  164 

Isnard,  Girondist  deputy,  inveighs 
against  clergy,  218;  urges  war, 
222;  threatens  Paris,  342,  345, 

391 

Italian  Comedy,  212 


Jacobin,  the  typical,  1 1 3- 1 4 
Jacobin  Club,  the,  its  place  in  the 
Revolution,  11 2- 13,  116;  elects 
Mirabeau  its  president,  154, 
156,  166,  180,  191;  division  in, 
192,  222;  satire  against,  225-7, 
271,  278,  284,  296;  transactions 
of  the,  299;  helps  to  save  France, 

330,  341,  344.  35.4,  377;  peti- 
tions the  Convention,  392,  409, 
411 

Jacobins,  the,  210,  212,  238,  246, 
295.  302,  329,  369-70,  374, 
402-3 

Jaures,  8  n.,  38  n.,  94  n.,  95  n., 
221  n.,  230  n. 

Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  see  Rous- 
seau 

Jerusalem,  329 

Jesuit  order,  the,  337 

Jews.  329 

Joseph  II.,  Emperor,  309 

Journal  des  Debats  et  Decrets,  see 
Dcbals 

Journal  des  Etats  Generaux,  25 

Journal  de  la  Republique  Frangaise, 
I  n. 

Journal  de  Paris,  76  n.,  78  n., 
80,  121  n. 

Judas,  242 

Jullien,  deputy,  317 

June  20,  1792,  events  of,  233  ff., 
252,  281 


Index 


449 


Just,  St.,  296;  on  mission  to  the 
army,  334;  on  Committee  of 
Public  Safety,  336.  376.  380, 
413;  denounces  the  H^bcrtists, 
414;  induces  Robespierre  to 
abandon  the  Dantonists,  415; 
assails  the  Dantonists,  416;  de- 
fends Robespierre,  430,  431 ;  ar- 
rested, 433;  writes  to  Couthon, 
434;  executed,  435 

Justice,  personified,  147 


Lafayette,  made  commander  of 
the  National  Guards,  58;  hands 
in  draft  of  Rights  of  Man,  73; 
on  October  5,  1789,  100;  on 
October  6th,  103;  on  August 
4,  1789,  128,  139;  idolized,  142; 
fires  on  the  people  at  Vincennes, 
166;  sends  protest  to  the 
Assembly,  173;  spends  evening 
with  the  King,  176,  178,  226, 
229;  on  June  20,  1792,  238; 
concerned  in  plot  for  King's 
escape,  242;  portrait  of,  273; 
declared  infamous,  282 

Laloi,  deputy,  410 

Lamballe,  Madame  de,  gifts  of 
Queen  to,  13;  murder  of,  314 

Lambel,  deputy,  128 

Lameth,  deputy,  128,  170 

La  Motte,  ^Iadame  de,  see  Motte 

Lamourette,   Abb^,   241 

La  Revolution  Franqaise,  review, 
see  Revolution,  la 

La  Rochefoucauld,  see  Roche- 
foucauld 

Lasfjurce,  deputy,  339 

Latour-Maubourg,  deputy,  181 

Launay,  de,  see  De  Launay 

La  Vend(5e,  see  Vend(?e 

Le  Bas,  deputy,  334,  431 ;  arrested, 
433;  commits  suicide,  434 

Logcntlre,  deputy,  415 

Le  H(xley,  25  n. 

LenAtre,  185  n. 

Lc<jpfjld  II,  Emperor,  202,  224, 
226;  dies,  228 

Lcpelletier,  St.-Fargeau,  murder 
of,  324;  memorial  to,  325,  371, 

373.   ¥^) 
L'-tlres  de  cachet ,  39.  124 
Liancourt,   Due  de,  80 


Liberty  of  Conscience,  as  proper 

name,  331 
Lille,  Rouget  de,  see  Rouget 
Lomenie  de  Brienne,  see  Brienne 
London,  16,  247,  249 
Lorraine,  Cardinal  do,  120 
Louis,  St.,  see  Saint 
;  Louis  XIV,  18,  36,  38,  114,  120, 
186,  263-4 
Louis  XV,  2,   10,   186,  320,  362; 

statue  of,  107 
Louis  XV,  Place,  see  Place 
Louis  XV^I,  4;  charitable  feelings 
towards,  10;  his  utter  incom- 
petency, 1 1 ;  pays  his  wife's 
debts,  13;  squanders  money,  18; 
opposed  by  Parlement,  19-20; 
recalls  Necker,  20-21,  22;  re- 
ceives deputies,  25;  hopes  still 
placed  in,  33;  orders  Assembly- 
hall  closed,  35,  36-37;  holds 
royal  session,  38;  speech  of,  at 
royal  session,  39;  defied  by  the 
National  Assembly,  40;  yields 
to  the  National  Assembly,  41; 
renounces  further  conflict,  43, 
45 ;  pardons  guards,  48 ;  appears 
in  National  Assembly,  55;  dem- 
onstrations over,  56;  at  Hdtel 
de  Ville,  57-60;  again  recalls 
Necker,  58;  dons  cap  of  liberty, 
59-60;  restorer  of  French  liberty, 
61 ,  66;  and  the  return  of  Necker, 
69-70,  72,  76;  visited  by 
women  of  the  market,  82,  89, 
92;  tries  to  alleviate  suflfcring, 
93;  criticisesRightsof  Man,  95- 
6;  at  banquet  at  Versailles, 
96,  97,  98;  on  October  5,  1789, 
loo-l;  hastens  to  Queen's  res- 
cue, 102;  appears  on  balcony, 
103;  consents  to  leave  Versailles, 
104-5;  moves  to  Paris,  106-7; 
called  "the  baker,"  107,  no; 
followed  by  National  Assembly, 
III;  appears  in  Assemlily,  121; 
alliance  with  Mirabeau,  122; 
loses  prerogatives,  124;  on 
Champ  de  Mars,  134-5:  privi- 
leges of,  at  FOte  of  Federation, 
136-8;  Siilary  considered  too 
large,  139:  radicals  angry  at, 
144;  accepts  the  pact  of  federa- 
tion, 147-8,  150;  sanctions 
civil  cxinslilution  of  the  clergy, 


450 


Index 


Louis  XVI — Continued 

152;  courts  popularity,  154;  bit- 
terly attacked  by  press,  1 56, 1 57 ; 
caricatured    as    a    horned    pig, 
159,  162,   167,  171;  prepares  to 
drive  to  St.    Cloud,    172;    pre- 
vented from  leaving  the  Tuiler- 
ies,    172-3;   protest    of,    to    the 
Assembly,   173;  appears  in  the 
Assembly,  174;  willing  to  sacri- 
fice French  soil,    175;  and  the 
flight    to     Varennes,     170-189; 
his  fate  in  the  balance,  190-1, 
192;   accepts  the  Constitution, 
194-202;    shows    courage,    200, 
203;  his  perilous  position,  206- 
7;   bids   farewell   to   Assembly, 
208;   plays  his  part  well,   209; 
attacks    on,    in   the   Assembly, 
210-11;  appears  in  the  Assem- 
bly, 212,  214;  sends  ultimatum 
to   Treves,   216;   withholds  his 
sanction,  218;  as  King  Janus, 
219;  refuses  sanction,  220,  221, 
224,   225,   228;   in   terror,   230; 
efforts  to  humiliate,  232;  warn- 
ing to,  234;  on  June  20,   1792, 
236-8;  issues  proclamation,  239, 
242;  takes  oath  to  Constitution, 
246;   indignation   against,   250; 
dethronement   demanded,    252; 
on    August     10,     1792,    253-5, 
260-1;    sent    to    the    Temple, 
262,  270,  280-1 ;  and  the  armoire 
de  fer,  282-4;  denunciations  of, 
285-7,  290,  295,  304,  305,  309; 
m  the  Temple,  312-13;  trial  of, 
314-7;    condemnation    of,    318; 
execution  of,  319-22;  memorial 
of,  323,  324,  338,  345,  346,  377, 
386,  389,  390,  396,  438 

Louison,  loi  n. 

Lucerne,  the  lion  of,  258-9 

Luckner,  General,  226;  executed, 
412 

Luther,  Martin,  33,  204 

Luxembourg,  166,  378 

Lyons,  disturbances  in,  164;  re- 
bellion in,  347,  371,  375; 
anathema  against,  380;  blood- 
shed in,  382,  403,  409 

M 
Maillard,  Stanislas,  leads  women 


to     Versailles,     99;     addresses 
Assembly,  100 

Mainz,  226,  375 

Mallet  du  Pan,  36  n. 

Manege,  the,  in 

Manifesto,   the,   of  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,   248,   280 

Mantes,  2 

Manuel,  deputy,  317 

Marat,  i,  140,  192,  194;  member 
of  Council  of  the  Commune, 
271;  his  circular  concerning  the 
massacres,  293-4,  296;  reflects 
on  Madame  Roland,  298,  305, 
322;  haspricesetonDumouriez's 
head,  330,  336;  draws  pistol, 
339-40;  fosters  excitement,  340; 
attacks  on,  340;  arrested,  341; 
freed,  342;  sounds  the  tocsin, 
344,  345;  revises  lists  of  Giron- 
dists, 347;  stabbed  by  Charlotte 
Corday,  348-50;  a  martyr  of 
liberty,  350-2,  367,  371,  373; 
his  heart  in  a  shrine,  398; 
apostrophized,  399,  409 

Maria  Theresa,   Empress,    11-12, 
106,  156,  196 

Marie  Antoinette,  influenced  by 
Mercy  d'Argenteau,  1 1 ;  her 
intrigues,  12;  her  extravagance, 
13;  involved  in  the  diamond- 
necklace  affair,  14-15;  her  repu- 
tation gone,  16;  buys  St.  Cloud, 
1 8 ;  receives  the  deputies  at  Ver- 
sailles, 25;  counsels  coercion  of 
National  Assembly,  39;  appears 
on  balcony,  56,  68;  visited 
by  women  of  the  market,  82, 
92;  tries  to  alleviate  suffering, 
93 ;  at  banquet  to  the  Regiment 
of  Flanders,  96,  97;  on  October 
5th,  100; on  October  6th,  102-5, 
no;  insults  heaped  upon,  139, 
142;  courts  popularity,  154; 
bitterly  assailed  by  the  press, 
156-62;  plots  to  remove  Louis 
XVI  from  Paris,  159-60;  machi- 
nations against,  162;  prevented 
from  leaving  Tuileries,  172-3; 
hopes  to  win  Swedish  king, 
174-5;  manages  the  flight  to 
Varennes,  177-189;  her  atti- 
tude after  the  flight,  194; 
prevaricates,  196;  her  vindic- 
tiveness,     198,     199;    and    the 


Ind 


ex 


451 


Marie  Antoinette — Continued 
acceptance  of  the  Constitution, 
200,  202;  censures  the  emigres, 
204;  plays  her  part  well,  209; 
indignant  at  Legislative  As- 
sembly, 212,  216,  223-4;  in  a 
panic,  226,  228;  on  June  20, 
1792,  234-238;  on  August  10, 
1792,  254;  sent  to  the  Temple, 
262;  denunciations  of,  in  Jaco- 
bin Club,  284;  in  the  Temple, 
312;  during  the  massacres,  314; 
separated  from  her  son,  354;  in 
prison,  383-5;  trial  of,  385-6; 
letter  to  Madame  Elizabeth, 
386  fJ.;  sketched  by  David,  387- 

9 

Mame,  the  river,  185 

Marseillaise,  the,  247-9,  3 19.  321, 
358 

Marseilles,  158;  the  patriots  from, 
247,  250,  290 

Massacres,  the,  of  September, 
see  September 

Massenbach,  248 

Maximum,  law  of  the,  375-6 

Medicis,  Marie  de,  386 

Meilhan,  Senac  de,  i 

Memoires  de  Septembre,  see  Sep- 
tembre 

Memoires  sur  I' affaire  de  Varennes, 
162  n. 

Menchould,  St.,  176,  181,  183-4 

Mercier,  3,  5 

Mercy  d'Argenteau,  his  intrigues, 
II,  12,  13,  226 

Mericourt,  Theroigne  de,  253 

Merlin  de  Thionville,  272 

Messalina,  386 

Messidor,  month  of,  401 

Metz,  152,  158 

Miomandre  de  Chateauneuf,  95  n. 

Miralx^u,  Barrel,  brother  of 
Honorc-  Riquelti,  137-8 

Miralx;au,  \\ut\ot6  Riijuetti,  4  n., 
20;  impression  made  by,  26,  28; 
seeks  to  break  deadlock,  32; 
defies  de  Br6z<5,  37,  40;  speech 
of,  in  the  Assembly,  48;  attacks 
the  court,  54,  iio;  moves  to 
ccjnfiwate  clergy's  lands,  117; 
retorts  to  clergy,  120;  serves 
King  and  Queen,  122;  defends 
royal  prerogatives,  124;  his 
attitude    to    civil    constitution 


of  the  clergy,  154;  president 
of  Jacobin  Club,  154;  his  pro- 
gramme, 156;  defends  King's 
aunts,  166;  death  and  burial, 
167,  170-2,  190,  271;  dcalirgs 
with  the  court  discovered, 
282-4 
Mouiteur,  the,  5  n..  266  n.,  333  n., 

334  n-  337  "-.  379.  410.  4i8;  its 
account  of  Robespierre's  fall, 
432 

Monsieur,  brother  of  the  King, 
166,  178 

Mont   Blanc,  306 

Montauban,   164 

Montmirail,  176 

Morris,  Gouvemeur,  212,  212  n. 

Morse  Stephens,  see  Stephens 

Mortimer-Terneux,  247  n.,  278  n., 
288  n.,  328  n.,  338  n. 

Motte,  Madame  de  la,  14-16; 
returns  to  Paris,  162 

Mounier,  president  of  National 
Assembly,  36,  102  n.;  escapes 
from  France,  no 

Mountain,  the,  political  party, 
296,  299;  and  the  trial  of  Louis 
XVI,  318;  its  strength,  339; 
and  the  September  massacres, 
340;  denounced  by  Gcnsonn(5, 
341;  its  tactics,  343,  344.  346; 
declared  in  the  ban  by  Lyons, 
34.7;  celebrates  fall  of  the 
Girondists,  356  ff.,  374,  380,  390, 
392,  413;  apotheosis  of  the,  421 

Mountain,  Old  Man  of  the,  341 


N 


Nantes,  edict  of,  212 

National  Assembly  (Constituent), 
2;  formation  of,  31-33;  Dr. 
Guillotin's  measures  for  its 
comfort,  34;  spectators  in- 
fluence it,  34;  its  hall  closed  on 
June  20th,  35;  holds  session  in 
the  Tennis  Court,  36,  37;  votes 
to  attend  royal  session,  ^8; 
kept  waiting  by  King,  39;  delies 
tile  King's  idminand  to  dis- 
perse, 40;  rcallinns  its  decrees, 
41;  sends  petitions  to  the  King, 
48;  regrets  Necker's  disniis.siil, 
49;  is  bitter  against  the  (ourt, 
54;  is  impressed  Ijy  the  King's 


452 


Index 


National  Assembly — Continued 

discourse,  55;  accompanies  the 
King  to  his  palace,  56,  58,  69; 
busies  itself  with  the  Constitu- 
tion, 73;  on  August  4th,  76-78, 
82;  friction  in,  89;  voluntary- 
gifts  to,  94;  its  hall  invaded  by 
women,  100,  loi;  plays  undigni- 
fied role,  108,  no;  votes  to 
follow  King  to  Paris,  in,  116; 
and  the  estates  of  the  clergy, 
118;  malediction  pronounced 
over,  120;  takes  civic  oath,  121; 
votes  away  King's  prerogatives, 
124;  honours  Conquerors  of  the 
Bastile,  128,  130,  136,  138,  142; 
passes  civil  constitution  of  the 
clergy,  147,  149-50;  galleries 
of,  packed,  156,  166,  173; 
receives  the  King,  174,  176,  185, 
188;  debates  on  the  King's 
fate,  191 ;  declares  the  Constitu- 
tion completed,  194,  198;  the 
King  appears  in,  199;  escorts 
the  King  to  the  Tuileries,  200, 
204;  prepares  to  disperse,  207; 
bidden  farewell  by  Louis  XVI, 
209;  passes  self-denying  ordin- 
ance, 210,  211,  276,  426 

National  AssemlDly  (Legislative), 
unfriendly  to  the  King,  209-2 12 ; 
busies  itself  with  emigres,  214- 
216;  passes  laws  against  the 
clergy,  220,  228;  hampered 
by  Constitution,  232,  233;  on 
June  20,  1792,  234-6;  La- 
fayette's letter  to,  238;  fierce 
debates  over  Petion,  239;  the 
kiss  of  Lamourette  in,  241; 
receives  letter  from  Marseilles, 
247;  demands  for  King's  de- 
thronement in,  250,  252;  on 
August  10,  1792,  253-261;  votes 
destruction  of  emblems  of  royal- 
ty, 264;  votes  six  millions  for 
secret  purposes,  278;  employs 
Condorcet  to  write  defence  of 
August  loth,  279,  280,  281; 
sanctions  band  of  tyrannicides, 
287;  cashiers  council  of  the 
Commune,  288,  291;  and  the 
September  massacres,  293,  345, 
357.  426 

National  Assembly  (Convention), 
146,   266,   280;  first  session  of. 


295;  parties  in  the,  296;  Giron- 
dists   control,     302;    abolishes 
royalty,   303,   305;   tries   Louis 
XVI  for  his  life,  314-321,  326, 
328;  sends  commission  to  arrest 
Dumouriez,  329-330.  333;  con- 
fiscates property  of  fathers  of 
emigres,  334;  reorganizes  Revo- 
lutionary Tribunal,  335;  estab- 
lishes    Committee     of     Public 
Safety,    336;    decrees    its    own 
members    not    inviolable,    337, 
338;  debates  question  of  body- 
guard,  339;  scenes  of  violence 
in,    340,    342;    moves    to    the 
Tuileries,    343;    on    May    31st, 
344;     on      June     2d,     345-7; 
seventy-five    members    protest, 
347.    348;    takes    part    in    the 
Fete  to  Unity  and  Indivisibility, 
358.    361,     365;     terrorist     ha- 
rangues in,  372;  hurls  anathema 
at  Lyons,  380;  outlaws  Girond- 
ists, 383 ;  irreligious  tirade  in,  398 ; 
adopts  Revolutionary  Calendar, 
399;    countenances    worship   of 
Reason,    406-10;    declares    for 
toleration,     412,     415-16;     de- 
clares for  worship  of  Supreme 
Being,      418;      participates     in 
Fete  to  the  Supreme  Being,  419- 
23,  424;  and  the  laws  of  Prai- 
rial,  424-425,  426,  428;  Robes- 
pierre's   last    speech    in,    429; 
turns  against  Robespierre,  430; 
on  the  9th  of  Thermidor,  431-3; 
relations     with   the   Commune, 
434;  refuses  to  see  Robespierre, 
434.  435;  releases  suspects,  436; 
annuls  confiscations,  436-8;  de- 
crees freedom  of  worship,  438; 
tries  to  suppress  women,  438 

National  Guards,  94;  urge  march 
on  Versailles,  100;  guard  palace 
badly,  102;  take  civic  oath,  122, 
125,  126,  167,  173,  176,  181-2; 
escort  King  from  Varennes,  184- 
5;  fire  on  the  mob,  192;  play 
part  on  August  loth,  253,  287, 
308,  344 

National  Palace,  355 

National   Theatre,   354 

Necker,  minister,  17,  19;  his 
recall,  21,  26;  and  the  States- 
General,    28;    dismissed,    48-9; 


Index 


453 


Necker,  minister — Continued 

bust  paraded,  49;  again  recalled, 
58,  62,  67-70;  returns,  70-72; 
imposes  contribution,  95;  plot 
to  murder,   121 
Nicolai,   Monsieur  de,  378 
Xoailles,  Vicomte  de,  on  August 

4th. 77 
Notables,  assembly  of  the,  19 
Xotrc  Dame,  Church  of,  in  Paris, 
80;  worship  of  Reason  in,  406 
Xotre  Dame,  Church  of,  in  Ver- 
sailles, 25 
Noyon,  48 

O 

Op^ra,  the,  354 

Opinion,  F6te  of,  404 

Orange,  commission  at,  424 

Orleans,  289 

Orleans,  Due  d',  67,  70;  his 
hunting  preserves  spared,  82 ;  at- 
tempt to  cleanse  him  of  sus- 
picion, 97-8;  becomes  Philippe 
Egalite,  331;  executed,  393-4 


Paine,    Thomas,    defends    Louis 

XVI,  317 
Palais  Royal,  13,  324 
Pamela,  quotation  from,  378 
Pantheon,  the,   169-70,  350,  355, 

371.  416 
Paris,  2,  3,  6,  7,  13,  16,  36;  troops 
converging  on,  48;  on  July  14th, 
49.  54~5.  57:  visit  of  Louis  XVI 
to,  58,  60  n.,  62,  64,  66,  76  n., 
80,  82,  94-5,  locj,  104-6,  no, 
III,  121  n.,  124  n.,  126  n., 
128  n.,  130.  133-4.  136  n.,  139, 
140  n..  142.  145,  156,  159; 
scenes  of  disorder  in,  164,  170, 
'73~4.  '79  n-;  entry  into,  after 
Varennes,  i8.s,  186  n..  188  n., 
204,  212;  camp  under  the  walls 
of.  232,  237,  241;  threatened 
in  Rrunswi  k's  manifesto,  248, 
2.<jo,  252;  commune  of,  260  n., 
262,  270-1,  279  n.,  289,  29.<5, 
302,  326.  328,  333.  339,  344-5. 
34«-9.  352,  367.  374.  377: 
number  of  pris<jners  in,  380, 
390-1,  404;   churches  of,  to  he 


closed,  410;  number  of  execu- 
tions in,  424 

Parlemrnt,  the,  opposes  Turgot, 
16-17;  opposes  CaJonne,  18; 
coercion  of,  19-20;  suppression 
of,  20 

Pasquier,  50 

Pelagic,  St.,  prison  of,  394 

Perc  Diicliiuc,  the,  343,  408,  415 

P(5tion  de  Villeneuve,  156,  172; 
after  Varennes,  181;  and  Ma- 
dame Elizabeth,  185,  186,  191; 
on  June  20,  1792,  238;  sus- 
pended, 239-40;  freed,  256;  re- 
instated, 271;  rebus  concerning, 
301-2,  317;  tracked,  348;  found 
dead,  396;  rehabilitated,  441 

Philadelphia,  7,  212 

Pillnitz,  declaration  of,  202-3 

Pitt,  William,  90-1,  224 

Pius  VI,  Pope,  161;  and  the  civil 
constitution  of  the  clergy,  163- 
4,  224-5,  328,  404 

Place  d'Annes,  100-102 

Place  de  Greve,  89 

Place  de  la  Concorde,  363,  440-1 

Place  de  la  Rdvolution,  328,  361, 

363.  395.  441 

Place  dcs  Invalides,  362 

Place  des  Piques,  324 

Place  des  Victoires,  263-4 

Place  du  Petit-Carrousel,  177 

Place  Louis  Quinze,  185,  441 

Place  Vend6me,  263-4 

Pluviosc,  month  of,  401 

Point  du  Jour,  the,  190  n.,  191  n., 
192  n.,  208  n. 

Paissoniere,  section  of   Paris,  289 

Poitou,  seneschalry  of,  32 

Poland,  218 

Polignac,  Madame  de,  13;  emi- 
grates, 92-3 

Pont  dc  Sommevelle,  183 

Pont  Tournant,  the,  346 

Port  ;\  Hinson,  185 

Port-I-ihri',  see  Port-Royal 

Porl-Roval,  378 

I'orte  CiiaillcH,  185 

Porte  St.  Antoine,  54 

Porte  St.  Martin,  178 

Prairial,  month  of,  401;  laws  ot, 

424.  428 
Pride,    personified,    ill 
I'rieur,  242-3 
Prisf)ns,  the,  377  ff. 


454 


Index 


Procedure   criminelle  instruite    au 

Chdtelet,  95  n. 
Proces-verbal,   339-40 
Provence,  (I^omte  de,  summoned  to 

return,  216 
Prudhomme,  2  n.,  6,  140 
Prussia,  issues  declaration  of  Pill- 

nitz,  202-3;  joins  Austria,  228, 

248,  327 
Publius  Decius  Mus,  266 


R 


Rabaut  St.-Etienne,  death  of,  396 

Rambouillet,  18 

Raynal,  Abbe,  5 

Reason,     personified,     109,     iii, 

402-3;   the  goddess  of,   405-9; 

worship    of,    406-8;    Fetes    to, 

404-10 
Recompense,  Fete  of,  404 
Representatives-on-mission,  408 
Revolution  Franqaise,  la,  (review), 

126  n.,  233  n.,  234  n.,  248  n., 

253  n. 
Revolutionary  army,  established, 

372-4 
Revolutionary'  Calendar,  399-400 

Revolutionary  Tribunal,  estab- 
lished, 274-5,  278;  reorganized, 
335-6;  subdivided,  372,  378; 
freed  from  formalities,  392,  409; 
increases  its  severity,  424;  abol- 
ished, 436 

Revolution  de  Paris,  64,  66,  82,  94, 
no  n.,  124  n.,  126  n.,  128  n., 
134,  136  n.,  139  n.,  140,  140  n., 
145,  154, 156,  159,  166  n. 

Revolutions  de  Paris  et  de  Brabant, 
204  n. 

Richard,  Coeur  de  Lion,  96 

Rights  of  Man,  the,  89 

Riouffe,  290,  370,  395 

Robespierre,  influenced  by  Rous- 
seau, 4;  attacks  Louis  XVI,  96, 
156,  172,  191,  194,  199;  answers 
Louvet,  223;  denounces  Lafay- 
ette, 238;  portrait  of,  269;  mem- 
berof  Communal  Council, 270-1 ; 
character  and  appearance  of, 
271-2;  opposed  to  capital  pun- 
ishment, 276,  296,  304;  wants 
Louis  XVI  executed  as  enemy, 
318-20;  his  account  of  the 
execution,  321,  336,  338;  called 


usurper,  340;  triumph  of,  341, 
357;  on  Committee  of  Public 
Safety,  371,  376,  381-2,  391; 
his  Supreme  Being,  398;  attacks 
the  Hebertists,  411 ;  his  theories 
of  punishment,  412;  attacks 
Dantonists  as  well  as  Heber- 
tists, 413;  overthrows  Danton, 
416-17;  introduces  his  religion, 
418;  supposed  attempt  to  mur- 
der, 418;  at  the  Fete  to  the 
Supreme  Being,  418-24;  hears 
mutterings,  424;  advocates  laws 
of  Prairial,  425;  his  regime 
caricatured,  426-7;  ruined  by 
victories,  428;  last  speech,  429- 
30;  assailed  in  Convention, 
431-3;  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville, 
434;  shoots  himself,  434;  exe- 
cuted,   435-8 

Rochambeau,  general,  226,  229 

Rochefort,  408 

Rochefoucauld,  Due  de  la,  5 

Rohan,  Cardinal  de,  and  the 
diamond  necklace,  14-16 

Roland,  first  ministry  of,  230; 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  270; 
and  the  armoire  de  fer,  282-4, 
296-7;  grievance  of  Mountain 
against,  299;  caricatured,  300; 
rebus  concerning,  301-2,  315; 
his  house  surrounded,  345,  391 ; 
falls  on  his  sword,  395-6; 
rehabilitated,  441 

Roland,  Madame,  mother  of  the 
Girondists,  298-9;  caricatured, 
300;  imprisoned,  345,  348;  in 
St.  Pelagic,  379;  writes  memoirs, 
379.  383;  trial  of,  394-5;  execu- 
tion of,  395 

Rome,  150,  242 

Ronsin,  deputy,  414-15 

Rouen,  158 

Rouget  de  Lille,  composes  Mar- 
seillaise, 247 

Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques,  his  in- 
fluence, 3-4,  72 ;  inspires  Robes- 
pierre, 272 

Rue  de  la  Revolution,  441 

Rue  St.  Honors,  112,  424 

Russia,  223 


St.  Anthony,  119 


Index 


455 


St.    Bartholomew,    massacre,    55, 

120 
St.  Cloud,   18.   173 
St.  Denis,  409 
St.  Denis,  i-hurch  of,  266 
St.  Firmin,  292 
St.  Louis,  320,  394 
St.  Menehould,  176,  181,  ii<3-4 
Salles.  Girondist  deputy,  396 
Samson,  executioner,  321,  427 
Sans-culotte,  231,  233-6,  303 
Sans-culottides,  403-4;  abolished, 

439 
Sardinia,  327 
Sartines.  Monsieur  de,  62 
Saxony,  202 
Schoeffershcim,  ever-burning  lamp 

of,  332 
Seine,  river,  342 
Semiramis,  156 
September  massacres,  290-4,  339- 

41 
SepUmbre,    Memoires  de,   290  n., 

292  n. 
Sevres,  94 
Shakespeare,  274 
Sieyes,  would  "cut  the  cable,"  32; 

would  break  loose  from  King, 

36 
Silesia,  226 
Smith,  Adam,  274 
Soissons,  48 
Solon,  264 
Sorel,  202  n.,  218  n.,  228  n.,  231  n., 

234  n.,  238  n.,  242  n. 
Spain,      225;      hostilities      with, 

328 
Stael,  Madame  de,  242,  246 
Stael-Holstein,  Swedish  ambassa- 
dor, 162,  164  n.,  172  n.,  199  n., 

2(X),   209   n. 
Stephens,  .Morse,  98  n. 
Stem   (Mirabeau).  122  n.,  154  n., 

156  n.,  170  n. 
Strasburg,  164,  334 
Styx,  the,  107 
Suleau,   253 
Sulla.  340 
Supreme  Being,  worshipped,  411 

ff.;  F6te  to  the,  418-24 
Sweden,  224,  327-8 
Swiss  Guards,  56,  288;  on  August 

loth.  253-8.  259 
SwitzcTJand,  224,  328 
Sybcl,  von,  234  n.,  254  n. 


Tableau  de  Paris,  3 
Talleyrand,  117 

Tallien,    deputy,    assails    Robes- 
pierre, 432 
Tarpeian  rock,  the,  124 
Tell,  William,  331 
Temple,  the,  262,  274,  304,  313, 

330.  352 
Tennis  Court,  the,  36;  oath  in  the, 

36,  38,  207 
Terror,  personified,  228,  230 
Terror,  Reign  of,  370  ff. 
Th^dtre  Franc^ais,  377 
Theot,  Catherine,  429 
Thermidor,  month  of,  401 
Thionville,  Merlin  de,  272 
Third  estate,  the,  28  ff.,  47,  51  fT. 
Time,  personified,  308 
Titans,  the,  216 
Toulon,  330 

Tourzel,  Madame  de,  178-9,  185 
Treves,  elector  of,  217-18 
Trial  by  jury,  124 
Trianon,  the  little,  13 
Truth,  personified,   147 
Tuileries,  107,  iii,  165-6,  167-8, 

172-3,  176, 179,  180, 185-6, 194, 

209,213,228,233 
Turgot,   4,   4   n.;   incurs   Queen's 

enmity,  12;  and  the  Parlement, 

16-17 


Vadicr,  deputy,  191 

Valaze,  deputy,  kills  himself,  393 

Valenciennes,  375 

Valmy,  battle  of,  74,  303,  328 

Varcnnes,  flight   to,    160,    162   n., 

176-189 
Vanljlanc,   deputy,   252 
Vaudeville  Theatre,  354 
Vendue,  La,  326,  375,  398 
Vctidrmiaire,  month  of,  401 
Vrtttosc,  month  of,  401 
Verdun,  287,  289 
Vergniaud,  deputy,  attacks  court, 

228;  arraigns  Louis  XVI,  239, 

288,  335,  3'>o 
Vernon.  l)attlc-  of,  347-8 
Versiiilles,    14,  24,  25.  48.  54.  94. 

95-I),  98,  99  fT.,   U)i,   i(X>,  «i<», 

164.  182,  262-3 


456 


Index 


Victory,   personified,   306-7 
Ville  Affranchie  (Lyons),  380 
Villequier,  Due  de,  177 
Vizille,  20 
Voltaire,  170 

W 
Washington,  George,  222 


Young,  Arthur,  29 

Z 

Zodiac,  signs  of  the,  309 


Ji  Selection  from  the 
Catalogue  of 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


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on  application 


BLUCHER 


And  the  Uprising   of  Prussia  Against 
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By  ERNEST  F.  HENDERSON.  Ph.D..  L.H.D. 

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The   Lowell  Lectures,  Spring  1912 

THE  PERSONALITY  OF 
NAPOLEON 

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This  method  of  treatment,  supported  by  numerous  extracts  from 
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is  less  reflective  than  dramatic;  the  picture  which  he  unrolls  before  us  is  crowded 
with  vivid  figures,  impelled  towards  sinister  conflicts  and  strange  dooms,  strug- 
gling now  with  one  another,  now  with  the  culminating  fury  of  forces  far  greater 
than  themselves,  to  be  swept  at  last  to  a  common  ruin;  and  as  we  look  we  seem 
to  be  watching  one  of  those  Elizabethan  tragedies  in  which  the  wickedness  and  the 
horror  are  mingled  with  a  mysterious  exaltation  of  despair.  'Where  wast  thou 
when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth?  Declare  if  thou  hast  understanding.' 
That  is  the  text  of  which  .Signor  Ferrero's  history  is  the  commentary, — llie  text  of 
the  littleness  of  man.  The  greatest  names  seem  to  lose  their  lustre  upon  his 
pages;  he  shows  us  the  ignorance  of  the  wise,  the  weakness  of  the  strong,  the 
folly  of  '.he  prudent,  the  helplessness  of  the  well-meanmg;  the  rest  is  darkness  and 
fate." — London  Spectator. 

"  His  largeness  of  vision,  his  sound  scholarship,  his  sense  of  proportion,  his 
power  to  mcH-ure  life  that  has  been  by  his  observation  of  life  that  is — his  jiosses- 
si<<n  of  the  true  histoncal  sense.  .  .  .  He  is  a  bold,  not  to  say  audacious, 
proponent  of  new  theories  and  conclusions  wholly  at  variance  from  those  of  his 
innumerable  predecessors  in  tiiis  most  industriously  cultivated  t)f  all  historic  fields. 
The  translation  is  competent  and  more  than  that,  and  the  history  is  good  reading 
throughout.     There  are  no  dry  pages." — iV.   Y.  Times. 

Srnrf  fnr  rmjiplrfr  drscriptii'c  cirriiJitr 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

New  York  London 


Vol. 


The  Cambridge  History 
of  Englishi  Literature 

Edited  by 

A.  W.  Ward,  Litt.D.,  F.B.A.,  Master  of  Peterhouse 

and 

A.  R.  Waller,  M.A.,  Peterhouse 

To  be  published  in  14  volumes  and  two  volumes  supplementary 

to  the  History 

Royal  6vo,  of  about  500  pages  each,  $2.50  net 

Subscriptions  received  for  the  complete  work  at  $j6.oo  net,  payable  at  the  rate  of 
$2.25  on  the  notification  of  the  publication  of  each  volume.  {Carriage  additionaf) 

I.  From  the  Beginnings  to  the  Cycles  of  Romance. 
II.  The  End  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

III.  Renascence  and  Reformation. 

IV.  Prose  and  Poetry  from  Sir  Thomas  North  to 
Michael  Drayton. 

V.  The  Drama  to  1642.     Part  I. 
VI.     "  "       "     "  *     II. 

VII.  Cavalier  and  Puritan. 
VIII.  The  Age  of  Dryden. 
IX.  The  Age  of  Swift  and  Pope. 

other  volumes  in  active  preparation  and  will  be  issued  at  frequent  intervals 

Professor  W.  W.  Lawrence,  Professor  of  English  Literature,  Columbia 
University,  "  The  danger  that  a  history  of  this  sort  may  make  the  impression 
of  a  collection  of  heterogeneous  chapters  has  been  skilfully  avoided.  The 
various  sections,  while,  of  necessity,  the  work  of  different  scholars,  are  written 
in  a  simple  straightforward  style,  and  the  material  well  distributed  and  clearly 
worked  out.     The  arrangement  of  the  apparatus  criiiciis  is  admirable. 

"  The  editors  and  publishers  of  the  series  are  to  be  congratulated  on  their 
opening  volume.  It  can  hardly  fail  to  remain  for  many  years  one  of  the  stand- 
ard authorities  on  the  history  of  literature  in  early  England." 

Month,  '  From  every  point  of  view,  whether  of  interest,  scholarship,  or 
practical  utilitv  we  cannot  hesitate  for  a  moment  in  pronouncing  that  .  .  . 
it  bids  fa'i  lO  prove  the  best  work  of  its  kind  that  has  ever  been  produced. 
.  .  .  Writing  from  a  Catholic  standpoint  we  cannot  fail  to  commend  the 
generally  temperate  and  even  sympathetic  tone  in  which  the  religious  questions 
of  the  Middle  Ages  are  treated." 

Chicago  Tribune.     "  One  of  the  most  important  events  of  the  year  in  the 

world  of  letters." 

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